Time Repeats Itself
by Sarahplainntall
Summary: Modern day version of Avatar, packed full of action, adventure and just a touch of romance. New age Katara, Aang, Sokka and more new characters.
1. Chapter 1

**Intro**

It has nearly been 500 years since the war amongst the four great nations. Fire, earth, air and water. The avatar, master of all four elements has done their job of keeping peace among the world, until something happened…

Today, the four nations evolved into four different parts of Japan. Water nation by the coast of Tokyo, earth nation in the country, fire nation in down town Tokyo and the air nation that has been gone since the war. But, some rumors are said to believe that some still wander around Japan today.

Things have been looking down for the benders in Japan. They were to be arrested and killed if necessary. The emperor made that law six years ago. Now only a thread of benders were left except for the fire nation, because of their loyalty to the emperor.

But there was no real reason for the emperor to make a law against the benders. Or was there? Some say that he was afraid that the benders would try to de-throne him. But probably the real reason is that the emperor of Japan is afraid of one person… The Avatar.

**Chapter 1**

The bell rang at Fuji High; all the students in room 203 stood and bowed to their teacher before they left. The last person out was a girl with dark brown hair pulled up in a long ponytail. Her eyes were blue like the ocean and she wore blue jeans with a light blue tank top showing her tan skin.

"Hey Tyshi! Come here!"

The girl looked over her shoulder to see a small group of girls.

"Hey… what's up?"

The group of four stood there in silence.

"What?" Tyshi adjusted her backpack nervously, looking from face to face of her friends.

"You mad at me Miss Water Bender?" Tyshi tensed up slightly at the nickname.

"What? Why would I be?"

The girl she was talking to wore a white lacey skirt and an orange t-shirt.

"Because you've been avoiding me lately."

Tyshi leaned up against the lockers.

"No I haven't."

The group behind the 'head girl' was murmuring slightly. One began to whisper amongst the others.

"I think she's avoiding us. The first sign is denial." She said and the others nodded in agreement.

"No, it isn't what you think… I have been busy working to help my mom."

"Yeah, right… anyways Tyshi, umm… I think it is time for us to go our separate ways."

Tyshi felt a wave of sorrow wash over her.

"What, why?"

The group began to walk away.

"We're too different… I mean, like you're from the coast and I'm from the city."

The sorrow she felt previously was soon replaced with pure anger. Her so called "friend" not wanting to hang out with her anymore just because she thought she was better, coming from the big city rather than the country side by the coast.

"Do you know what I mean?"

Tyshi closed her hand into a fist. She was loosing her temper and could feel the water in the classroom's fish tank move. Tyshi fought so hard not to loose her temper, she took a deep breath and nodded. The other girl smiled,

"Good. So, see you tomorrow." She spun and left with her group trailing closely.

"Yeah… right." Tyshi walked outside to the bus stop. She sat down on the bench with her head in her hands.

"How can things get any worse?"

The bus came to a stop and the air hissed and the doors swung open and she boarded, and of course, it was packed. Tyshi found her spot in the back corner of the bus and it lurched forward before driving off.

'My friends… or, old friends, almost found out my secret… If she did, that could have been worse. A lot worse.' Tyshi sat there in silence as the bus dropped of people little by little. And before she knew it, the bus was almost empty. Tyshi looked out the window; the sun was setting over the sparkling sea. She pulled the cord that lit up the sign that read stop.

The bus slowed to a stop in front of a little town on the coast. Tyshi hopped off and started for home. The town wasn't much like the cities with the tall buildings and cars. All there was in the town were trading posts, markets and hotels in the business section and houses everywhere else.

It was nice to live by the ocean, less population and a lot less crowded. The people who lived there were all close, friendly or related. Tyshi lived right on the beach with her single mother Lanna.

"Mom! I'm home!" Tyshi threw her bag on the chair next to the door.

" Oh hi Tyshi, someone came to see you earlier today."

Tyshi walked into the kitchen and grabbed a water bottle.

"Oh really? Who?"

"You will never guess…"

Tyshi sat down on a chair waiting for her mom to finish her sentence.

"Oh I can't keep a secret! Calen stopped by! He left for a while, but he'll be back to see you around 5:00."

Tyshi looked at the wall clock. 3:00 pm.

"Really? Wow! It's been… forever since I've seen him! Thanks mom! I'll be outside practicing till he gets here!"

"Tyshi, you know that I don't like it when you practice out there, even if it is your talent. There is a chance of being caught or killed."

"I know ma' but I need to… you know that."

Her mom took a few steps closer, her face full of sorrow.

Lanna looked very similar to Tyshi in so many ways. Her tan skin and soft brown hair, but her eyes… they had lost their glimmer after Tyshi's father died. For he was a bender that had been caught.

"But if you are captured and killed, I would never be able to live with myself."

"I need to, it's apart of me. I just can't go on living only half a life."

Her mother fell silent.

"My bending makes me who I am." Tyshi walked over to the backdoor and opened it. "I hope you'll understand some day." She whispered to herself before leaving to the ocean.

The salty air filled her nose with each breath. Tyshi rolled her jeans up to her knees before walking wading into the water. She looked around and as usual, the beach was abandoned. She closed her eyes, allowing the sand and water wash over her feet and between her bare toes.

Tyshi could feel the push and pull of the ocean's tide, so calming, so powerful. She raised her arms from her sides up and over her head. Now she felt the water rise above her head, swirling leisurely, not touching her. She slowly pushed her hands out in front of her, then lowered the water around her waist; the sand beneath her feet remained dry, being untouched.

She kept the water there for so long it seemed like it was frozen. Tyshi lost track of time, but she could feel the power of the sun going down and the moon rising. Tyshi had been holding the position and had been in deep thought for about two hours. She thought about what her mother had told her earlier on Calen coming to visit.

'Wow… it's been so long since I've seen Calen. It's been a little over a year now since he's visited. I guess it's hard to visit when you live all the way in South Korea though. I miss the days when he was just down the street; it's amazing that we've still managed to remain best friends this whole time though. I still remember the day he got the news of his parents death… we were what… nine? Then he went to live with his aunt in South Korea. I always looked forward to his visits though. Just last year though, after he turned 18, his aunt died too. He inherited the house I think…"

'If he wanted to see me, he would have been here awhile ago.' She thought impatiently. But little did Tyshi know, someone had been watching her for the past hour. He looked like Tyshi's age, around 19. He had short brown hair with blonde streaks. He had eyes like the forest. The boy was just sitting there, watching in surprise, perfectly content.

'Should I tell her I'm here?' The boy hesitated, but stood up.

Tyshi heard the rustling of the sand. Her eyes shot open in horror, thinking she had been caught bending. She summoned a water whip, allowing the water around her feet to collapse around her. She pulled back on the whip and lashed it at the person behind her. With a snap, the water died in her hands. She turned to see who it was, but the only thing behind her was a large wall of sand with a large gash down the middle.

"What's the big idea?!"

Tyshi's eyes softened with relief.

"You snuck up on me!"

The boy looked around the wall of sand.

"Well sorry… You were practicing and I didn't want to interrupt ya." The boy dropped the wall of sand. "Well next time, I'll just barge in."

Tyshi smiled and trudged out of the ocean.

"Well it's nice to see you again Calen. It's been long enough" Tyshi hugged him, but he yelped in surprise. She pulled away, "What?"

"Your cold and wet!"

Tyshi rolled her eyes and playfully punched him on the arm.

"Ow!"

Tyshi stuck her tongue out at him.

"Ah… poor baby." She bended a ball of water at him and it hit softly, letting the water soak him.

"Not fair…"

She merely stuck her tongue out at him again, but this time Calen picked up Tyshi with ease and tossed her into the water. Tyshi didn't surface, but a wall of water came at him that was twice as big as him. As fast as Calen could bend, he put a wall in front of him, blocking most of the water. With a thud the water collided with the sand and was quickly get washing away, but the water soon died down and receded back into the ocean. Calen let the remains of his wall collapse.

"Tyshi…?" he looked around to see only wet sand and the sea. Little did he know that Tyshi was behind him.

"Boo!" she wrapped her arms around his neck and pushed off the ground, sending them both sprawling toward the sea. They both landed in the water with a large splash.

"Man, it's been to long." Tyshi froze some water and hoisted herself up on it.

"Yeah it has." Tyshi lent out her hand so Calen could sit up, but he bended the sand underneath him as a stool.

"Ooohhh… Mr. Fancy." She teased.

Calen sent her one of his looks and tickled her in the side. She nearly screamed.

"Not… funny!" She said between squeaky little screams and gasps for breath, but Calen just continued to laugh.

"You haven't changed much over the years." Tyshi smiled.

"Neither have you, but I guess that's good."

Tyshi shivered at the thought of change.

"Cold?" Calen asked.

Tyshi shook her head no as she looked at the horizon.

"Nah… just thinking."

"Oh." Calen checked his watch and noticed that it stopped working. "Great, I need to get a new watch…" he said bitterly.

"Let me see."

Calen took off his watch and handed it to Tyshi. She examined it a few seconds.

"It's just wet." She bended the water from the watch and began to wind it up again. Then she handed it back to Calen. "There ya go."

He set an ear to the watch as it started to tick.

"Thanks. Now lets see the time. 5:50, lets head in for dinner."

"I should probably dry us off first so mom doesn't get mad."

Tyshi stood up and quickly bended them dry. Some of the salt from the dried seawater brushed off her skin.

"Race you there!" Tyshi froze a path from her, to the front door of her house. She took a running start and began to slide. Calen on the other hand made large stepping stools of sand and dirt and as he ran along them, the ones he'd already traveled on sank back into the ground. While he ran, Tyshi used the pushing and pulling method of the ocean to skate along.

Now the two of them were neck in neck as they approached the door. They ended up reaching the house at the same time.

"Dang it, why can't I beat you when it comes to racing?" Calen shrugged.

"But we tied… that has never happened before. That tells me that you've gotten better."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"It was one."

"Oh, well… I'll still take it as one"

"Whatever…" she rolled her eyes. "Common, I'm hungry."

Both went inside, but from a distance stood someone in a black cloak with a flame symbol on the back.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

For the next few weeks, Calen had been visiting Tyshi almost daily. He was staying in a hotel just outside her town. They went to movies together, walked around town, hung out at the beach and caught up with each other. For the first time in a while, Tyshi was finally truly happy again, for it felt like the piece that had been missing from her life had found its way back to her. Being around Calen was easy, their friendship was simple and strong; they didn't have to work to have fun, being best friends just came naturally to the two of them.

One afternoon though, Calen didn't show up, so Tyshi left to practice her bending in the dwindling twilight.

Breathe in then out, push and pull the water, up and down. Her breathing was slow, steady and controlled. Her eyes flew open; she took a deep breath and raised both arms over her head. The oncoming wave reared into the air and Tyshi did a quick twist with her arms and the water came crashing down and swirled around her. The towering wall of swirling water and the sun filtering through it entranced her. Around and around it went and all track of time was lost.

The town's shrill alarm sounded and Tyshi let the water fall as she whirled around.

"No…" she gasped horrified at the sight that met her eyes. The whole town was set ablaze and the fire nation soldiers could be seen weaving between and around houses, making sure they burned. Terror pulsed through every vein, but she forced herself forward.

"This can't be happening! How? Why?!" the questions buzzed through her head over and over as she ran to the nearest house. As she stood in front of it, only then did she realize she didn't have any water to put out the fire with. Tyshi set off at a run to the nearest fire hydrant a couple of blocks away. Push and PULL! The fire hydrant was ripped from the ground and the water beneath it erupted with great force. She began to soak the nearby houses in hopes of dousing the flames.

"Seize her!" said the hoarse voice of a fire nation solider. "She's a water bender!"

Tyshi sent a surge of water at him before he could attack. She went back to her previous attentions of fighting the raging fire.

A red-hot searing pain racked her back and she let out a cry of pain. Tyshi turned to the source, gently fingering the fresh wound. The fire nation solider was standing not but ten feet away, his palm up turned and smoking.

"Wretched girl…" he spat angrily. He prepared for another attack, but Tyshi was faster. She motioned and immediately had a handful of water she swung at him, forming a whip. Tyshi lashed madly at him, blinded by her fury. The solider tried to block her attack and soon became agitated.

"Your going to pay for that, with your life!" he withdrew a handgun from his uniform and took careful aim at his fleeing target. "Stop running and accept your fate." He hissed to himself as he pulled the trigger.

"AH!" Tyshi screamed as the bullet lodged in her shoulder. She stumbled, but only for a moment. She ran to the edge of town, grasping her bleeding shoulder in one hand and attempting to bend an attack with the other. Unfortunately, Tyshi was to weak to assault the approaching fire nation solider who still had his gun drawn.

The bang of the gun sounded again and Tyshi collapsed on the ground, clutching her now injured leg. Slowly the solider reached her and he aimed the gun at her head.

"If you hadn't run, your death would have been so much faster." He said gruffly and he cocked the gun.

Tyshi clenched her teeth in pain and anger and studied every detail of the man that was about to end her life. Strangely though, she felt no fear and she stared death in the face.

"Any last words?" he smiled cruelly as he readjusted his aim. Suddenly, the fire nation solider was sent flying by a mass of rocks.

"I've got some last words for you. You messed with the wrong person!" the rocks that had knocked the solider down and several yards away rose and coalesced, forming a fair sized boulder and was brought down, crushing the screaming fire nation solider. The earthbender rushed and kneeled next to Tyshi.

"You hurt?" he asked worriedly looking over her.

"Better late then never Calen." Tyshi cracked a smile and tried to laugh, but it turned to a cough from the thick curling smoke and then a groan.

"What did he do to you?" Calen asked solemnly as he gently cradled her battered body to his chest.

She scrunched her eyes in pain for a moment.

"First he got me in the back with his firebending… then he shot me in the shoulder and the leg." She winced as Calen carefully examining her wounds. He ripped the sleeves off his shirt and quickly wrapped the bullet wounds.

"I have to get you out of here."

"But what about everyone else?"  
More shouts were heard and a few flames were shot into the air above their heads to act as flares. Calen and Tyshi could see the faint outlines of more soldiers coming towards them in the dwindling light. More gunshots were fired in their direction and Calen erected a stonewall to block the attacks.

"I'm sorry Tyshi, but we really have to go now. They'll be fine." He stood, carefully holding her in his arms and a small section of the ground beneath them sunk and they were in a cave. Calen flicked his the wrist that was supporting Tyshi's legs and the ground he had been standing on was replaced above them, blocking their entrance and sending them into pure darkness. Tyshi leaned her head exhaustedly against his lean and muscular frame and gently clutched his shirtfront as voices were heard overhead.

"Don't worry." Calen whispered soothingly as he shifted her weight to one arm and pulled a flashlight from his back pocket and handed it to Tyshi. She took it gratefully and clicked it on.

"I have to set you down for a moment." He whispered so as not to be heard from anyone but Tyshi.

"Not a problem." She whispered wearily.

Calen carefully set her down against the wall.

"Can you shine the light… that way?" he said pointing east. Tyshi silently obliged and Calen took a deep breath, made a pushing motion and cleared a tunnel east bound as far as the eye could see.

"Bravo." She jested quietly. Calen gave a small smile and bent to pick her up again.

"No, I can walk." Tyshi said, stopping him.

"Not like that you can't." he scooped her up again and began the long trek.

* * *

It seemed like days, even weeks, just walking down the long and empty tunnel. But Tyshi knew very well that it had only been a few hours and yet, it felt like forever. she was slipping in and out of sleep in Calen's arms, the arms that saved her life for at least the 20th time over the years, but even those arms couldn't save her from her grief as silent tears ran down her face in a constant stream.

The flashlight in Tyshi's hand started to flicker before shutting off. The tunnel fell dark again. Tyshi shook it as Calen slowed to a stop.

"Damn flashlight… how long till the batteries completely run out?"

"A couple minutes. They only last for about five hours."

"Those are crappy batteries."

Calen shifted Tyshi's weight a little.

"That may be, but it's a timer for me." He set Tyshi down carefully.

"How?" she said getting comfortable against the dirt wall.

"It takes five hours to get from your town to my place."

"In South Korea? We can't be that far."

"No…" he walked forward slowly with his hand out in front. He walked a few steps before walking into a wall. "Ow!"

"You okay?"

"Yeah, but we made it to my temporary house in the country." He picked up Tyshi and flung his arm upwards. A hole in the ceiling appeared as they both rose to the surface.

The first thing Tyshi noticed was that it was dark out even thought it was a little after dawn. She looked up and saw that the sun was blocked by one large cloud of curling black smoke.

Tyshi crushed her eyes shut and asked the obvious question, "Why's it so dark outside?" She leaned her head against his chest, awaiting his reply and listening to his steady heartbeat.

"Smoke from a fire nearby."

Tyshi held her breath and buried her head in his shoulder, trying to hold back a sob.

"It's fine. Probably just a field fire." He tired to comfort her, but she knew that the smoke was rising from her smoldering town.

"Let's get inside, I need to make a call." Tyshi nodded as he walked into the small house before them.

"Is it safe in here?" She asked as he set her down on a couch.

"For the moment. Those fire troops were mainly after you. But now that I've rescued you… they'll be after me too."

Tyshi's gaze fell guiltily. "I'm sorry I got you into this." She said quietly.

"Hey, it's fine. I knew it was bound to happen." Calen said as he fetched a small medical kit. He dug through and pulled out tweezers and some bandages.

"But still…" Tyshi trailed off.

He left the room again and came back once more with a bottle of peroxide and a clean wash cloth.

"You know, I can heal myself. I'm not very good at it, but I at least know how to."

"Won't work."

"What do you mean?"

"New technology the fire nation came up with. The bullets are coated in a chemical that reacts badly with water. You can't heal yourself and if you try to get it wet, it'll just make things worse."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Tyshi shouted exasperatedly upset.

"This may sting a bit." He cautioned her as he held up the bottle of peroxide again and he slid her tank top strap down a little so he could start working on her shoulder wound. He poured some peroxide on the washcloth and gently dabbed at the dried blood.

"Ow! Sting just a bit huh?" Tyshi said through grit teeth as she clutched her hands together until they were white to keep from out bursting again.

"I'm sorry. I really am trying to be gentle…" he put down the washcloth after cleaning out the wound and picked up the tweezers and began fishing for the bullet. By this time, Tyshi had a few tears rolling down her cheeks. Calen had tended to her shoulder and turned to see how she was doing.

"Aw Tyshi… I'm so sorry." He said sympathetically. "This is all my fault." He said bitterly, mad at himself. He cupped her chin in both hands and with his thumbs; he gently whipped away her tears of pain.

"No. How could it be your fault?"

"I didn't come in time. If I had just come a little sooner…err!" he angrily punched the floor. Tyshi grabbed his arm and put his hand to her cheek.

"No Calen. You were just on time. You saved my life, yet again." She smiled at him and let go of his hand. "Would you mind?" she motioned to her injured leg and back which were both still un-attended.

"Oh, yeah." He picked up the washcloth and cleaned up her leg and pulled the bullet out. He took care as he bandaged it gingerly.

"Now for that back of yours." He picked her up and carried her through the house and set her on a bed.

"I'd thought it'd be easier on you if I patched you up here."

"Good thinking." She said with a smile then a yawn. He nodded, returning the smile. She got settled on the bed as Calen went to get the burn cream and linen dressings.

Calen settled on the edge of the bed and peeled the bits of her shirt off her back carefully and Tyshi buried her head in the pillow. When he pulled the burnt clothing from her back, it took the dead blackened skin with it and fresh clean blood welled to the surface, a good sign. Tyshi whimpered muffledly into the pillow and Calen tossed the burn cream aside, no longer needing it.

"Almost done Ty…" he said soothingly. He put some of his own homemade healing lotion on the exposed skin, and then bandaged it all around her middle.

"Done. See, that wasn't so bad. Now get some sleep." Calen bent down and kissed her on her forehead, like he used to when they were little. He turned and shut the door gently.

Calen took a cell phone out of his pocket and stepped outside. "Azumo, it's Calen… Yeah… No, nothing like that this time, just a favor… Uh-huh. That house in the country side… Me plus one back to South Korea… That soon? You're good… I appreciate that… Yup, bye."

He went back inside and walked over to the hall closet and pulled out a spare pillow and blanket and bedded down on the floor in the hall outside the room Tyshi was in and set the alarm on his digital watch so he wouldn't oversleep.

* * *

Tyshi felt uneasy as she lay on the bed, staring at the wall. Every once and awhile she would look out the window and look up at the sky. The sky was still dark from the smoke from her town; she could feel it in her gut.

Tyshi couldn't help but feel helpless as her town, family and friends were left to die by the hands of the fire nation because anyone harboring a bender was punished with death. Tyshi felt a bit sleepy from all the crying as she looked out on the horizon. Just as her eyes were closing, she heard a soft beeping coming from outside the door. The she heard groaning and someone getting up.

"Ty? You awake?" he called from outside the door and she rubbed her swollen eyes.

"Yeah." She said quietly. Calen came in; his eyes were half open and his hair all messy and he was yawning.

"You get any sleep?"

Tyshi shook her head no.

"Why not?" Calen found a chair and sat down next to her.

"So many things happened. I couldn't sleep with those images in my head and things are changing too fast for me."

Calen stood up and motioned for Tyshi to scoot over. She complied and Calen sat down next to her.

"It's okay if things change. But there will be one thing that won't change…" Tyshi leaned up against him. "I will never change. I will never hurt you or let anything hurt you ever again."

"I would like that."

Calen smiled and hugged her softly trying to avoid her back wound. Tyshi seemed to be washed away by Calen's hug but was brought back to reality by the same beeping she had heard before. Calen pulled away and looked down at his watch.

"We need to get ready." Calen stood up, but stumbled slightly.

"You okay?"

Calen grabbed the chair so he wouldn't fall over and could regain his balance.

"Yeah… just stood up too fast." Tyshi smiled and rolled her eyes. It wasn't long before Calen got ready. He just slipped on a new shirt and long pants. He tossed her a small green t-shirt that he pulled out of a trunk of clothes and she pulled it over her burnt tank top.

"Where are we going?"

Calen picked Tyshi up.

"To South Korea. You know, my other home." Calen could feel her tense up in his arms.

"What about my mom and my town?" she asked quietly.

"We need to leave. There is a safe place at my town in South Korea."

"No! I'm not leaving them! I'm not abandoning my family!"

"You have no choice. I have no choice but to take you away so you can heal and where I can protect you."

"No! I'm staying!" Tyshi started to struggle, but Calen tightened his grip.

"Sit still…" he grumbled.

"NO!"

"Calm down Ty…" he tried to calm her as he walked out to the plane that he had called in for the private flight.

"Let me go!" Tyshi got an arm free and slapped him across the face. Calen didn't speak, look down… nothing; he just kept walking towards the plane. Tyshi was mad at Calen in so many ways, but she had a mixed feeling of guilt.

As they approached the plane, the pilot was waiting for them.

"Man, she got you good. I heard that from here." The man chuckled.

Calen got on the small plane and set Tyshi down on the one chair on the left side of the aisle.

"Now you stay here or I'll restrain you." He threatened hollowly in a solemn voice.

Tyshi turned her head and scoffed. Calen sighed and sat down across from her. Tyshi gazed out the window to the hidden sun. It was still smoggy out like it had been for hours. The plane lurched forward before ascending into the dark smoky sky.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Tyshi woke suddenly as the plane lurched forward in the air. She looked out the window and it was finally sunny out. Tyshi smiled, but it was wiped away by the reality of her incinerated town. Then she remembered that she was mad at Calen for making her run away from the fire nation and letting her mother suffer.

'I can't believe that Calen would do something like this! Running away to save ourselves and let all the others die. But he wouldn't do that without a reason. I mean it is like he was apart of my family.' She thought to herself. 'He used to live with us until his aunt came to get him after the funeral. What a sad funeral… I held Calen's hand the whole time He didn't speak the whole day. But before, we would spend almost every waking moment together. His parents were like my parents and mine were his. He was the brother I never had…' Tyshi looked over to Calen who was awake and gazing out the window. Then she noticed a red hand shaped mark on his left cheek.

'Oh yeah… I slapped him. But it's still there, why? That mark should of disappeared by now.' Then she remembered what the pilot had said. 'I must've slapped him really hard for him to have heard it from so far away.'

Tyshi felt guilty, stood up and walked over to him. The plane hit some turbulence and she stumbled and fell into the seat right next to him. His eyes turned towards her, and then quickly back to the window.

"Hey… you okay?"

Calen didn't move or say anything.

"I'm sorry I slapped you back there. I was just mad."

"Mad at me?" he finally spoke.

"At first, but I was mad at the fact that I couldn't do anything to save my town."

"But you tried. That's what matters." He said, finally looking over at her.

"Yeah I guess. So, forgive me?"

Calen smiled.

"I already have." He held out his arms and embraced her. She leaned up against him listening to his steady and soothing heartbeat as the hours continued to go by as they approached South Korea. Her eyes slowly opened and closed and then, after awhile, remained closed as she drifted back to sleep.

It was only a couple hours later before the plane landed on a dirt airstrip by the coast. Tyshi was still sleeping soundly, laying her head on Calen's lap as he waited for the plane to stop. He brushed some stray hairs away and whispered to her.

"We're here."

Tyshi sat up yawning.

"Already? Wow…"

Calen chuckled and Tyshi brushed back her hair, trying to get it under control.

"It was fast because you fell asleep."

"Oh, sorry."

"It's okay. You kept me warm." He winked at her. She rolled her eyes and ran a hand through his messy short brown and blonde hair and ruffled it playfully. Tyshi slowly stood and went to the plane's door. She jiggled the handle and the door flew open as a gust of wind caught it and brought it crashing to the ground.

"Hey! Watch the paint!" The pilot yelled from the front.

"Sorry! It kinda flew open!"

The pilot shook his head and turned back to the controls. Calen appeared behind her and set his hand on her good shoulder.

"Common… I'll show you around." He led Tyshi down the stairs of the plane and onto the dirt road. Tyshi noticed that the surroundings were much more tropical then she had suspected.

"Why is it so hot here? And humid?"

"We're by the sea. What would you suspect?"

Tyshi shrugged and kept on walking. Then he pointed at the beach.

"That's where I live with the other benders who ran from Japan."

"So… I'm not the only one?"

"Right. Common, I'll show you where we'll be staying." He led her past the houses towards the ocean. Tyshi noticed that everyone they passed was waving, but she assumed they were waving at Calen and not her.

"Your well known aren't you?"

"You can say that. Or you can say that I teach the newer people bending if I can."

"Water?" he nodded in reply to her question.

"Even fire?"

"Most of the time."

Tyshi stiffened at the thought of fire benders in her new found sanctuary. Calen took notice of this and said,

"Don't worry. The fire benders here are also rebels. If they weren't, we wouldn't be here."

Tyshi relaxed a little. Calen always knew just what to say.

"Here we are. The house on the coast."

Tyshi felt sorrow wash over her and her head dropped and shoulders slumped.

"What's wrong?"

"It reminds me of home."

"I'm sorry. We can move if you want. It really wouldn't be that hard. After all, I built, or earth bended, it all by myself."

"Wow… you did this all on your own? It looks really good…" she shook her head gently, clearing it. "No, it's fine. We don't have to move; it just reminds me of home. I guess it is the closest thing to a new home."

Calen sighed slightly and led her inside. The house was small, yet cozy. The room was dark, but Tyshi could make out a TV, couch, table with chairs and kitchen area from the front door.

"So this is where you stay every time your out here?"

Calen nodded and switched on a light. He went to the curtains and flung them open and a cascade of dust showered him. He coughed a little then opened a large window that had previously been hidden by the curtains. Tyshi gazed out the window in awe.

"Wow…"

"Yeah, they gave me the best spot by the ocean. On special request of course."

Tyshi went to the window and put a hand on the frame and stared at horizon.

"It's beautiful."

Calen walked a few steps closer to her.

"The ocean reminds me of you when I'm gone."

Tyshi could feel color rushing to her face.

"But I don't have anything to remember you by."

Calen hugged Tyshi from behind.

"You'll think of something."

Tyshi sighed and looked over her shoulder at him.

"I'm tired, where can I sleep?"

"Pull out couch or bed?" he whispered in her ear as he bent his head lower.

"I dunno. Couch I guess."

"Okay. Be right back."

He left to fetch the bedding material. Tyshi sat on the cushioned window seat, folded her arms and rested her head on them, daydreaming as she stared at the setting sun reflecting across the gently lapping waves. Only Calen's serene voice brought her back to reality.

"Now while you're here, you must rest until you heal."

Tyshi turned and nodded mutely as Calen set up her bed.

"Time for you to get some shut eye. Tomorrow I'll check your wounds." He walked to where she was sitting and kissed her on the forehead.

"Night." She said quietly.

"Night." He whispered back before shutting off the light and disappearing in a different room. Tyshi turned back to the window and looked out once more before standing, closing the window and curtains and settling down on her couch bed. She fell asleep almost instantly with the image of her burning town.

* * *

**5:30 AM:** Tyshi felt stiff from laying down so much without doing anything. Plus, her two bullet wounds and burn hurt. She opened her eyes and looked up at the digital clock on the VCR/DVD on the TV.

"5:30? I thought I would sleep in more." Tyshi shrugged and sat up and her whole body ached and her vision blurred for a moment. She clutched her head for a moment till the wave of dizziness passed. She was aware of the pain in her back, shoulder and leg and she slowly stood and peeked through the closed curtain. It was a little lighter outside.

"I bet I can bend right now." She muttered to herself and she silently left the house and walked down to the beach. She stretched her stiff limbs before heading into the water. She took the first step and pain erupted through her leg. Shocked and dazed, she staggered backwards. Her eyes were watering like crazy but she kept her cry in.

"Ow…" she said through grit teeth and forced herself back into the water. She took in a deep breath of the salty air and it calmed her immensely, even the pain in her leg dulled slightly.

She allowed the push and pull of the ocean move through her body and claim her full attention. Soon, the motion seemed to be apart of her. She attempted to bend a small stream of the pristine water in the crisp morning air, but it only got a few feet off the ground before there was another explosion of pain in her leg and shoulder this time. The streamlet died and fell back to the sea. The pain wouldn't subside. She could feel the ocean get rougher and rougher as the pain increased.

"Tyshi!"

Strong arms enfolded her and with surprising gentleness pulled her out of the sea.

"Calen?" she said meekly.

"Tyshi… you must control yourself." He said in her ear. "Calm yourself. Let the water to take you." He said quietly in a soothing voice.

She took in another deep breath and with that she and the water grew calm once more.

"How did you know that I was out here?"

"I had a hunch. Not only that, knowing you, you'd be out here training. Common, let's go inside."

"I forgot." Tyshi said meekly.

"I noticed." He led Tyshi inside.

Inside it was brighter for the sun was rising. Calen motioned towards the couch and they both sat down. Calen pulled out the med kit at undid her leg bandages. The gash was pussy with an outline of a purple-bluish color and dead white skin around the edges.

Tyshi winced at the sight of the repulsive flesh. She looked away and said, "I had no idea it would be _that_ bad."

He dabbed the wound with peroxide and she recoiled slightly.

"The fire nation has gotten pretty smart. They're in charge so they've got some of the top scientists and the most sophisticated technology. The effect fortunately is only temporary of course. It should only last about… a week or so."

Tyshi sighed relieved and disappointed at the same time.

"So I'll be able to train in the ocean?"

"In two weeks."

"Two weeks?! But the effects only last one week!"

"I know. I said two so you can rest up."

"You know I won't though." She said defiantly.

"I know. How about this… you rest up and I'll teach you how to master the basics of water bending."

"How? You bend earth and I bend water."

"Similar concepts. So while you heal, I'll verbally instruct you. And… you can practice with a cup of water every day." Calen held out his hand. "So what do you say?"

"Now you're just mocking me. A cup of water, wee…" she said sarcastically rolling her eyes and turning a finger in a circle of sarcastic celebration. She sighed in defeat. "I don't have a choice, do I?"

"Nope." He said cheerfully as he finished bandaging her leg then moved on to check her shoulder and back and pat her on the arm. "We start tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah…" she said crossly. "What do I do for the rest of the day?"

Calen shrugged and stood.

"Rest until lunch then we can walk around. I can introduce you to some students of mine."

"Okay…"

"You hungry?"

Tyshi held two fingers about half an inch apart.

"Just a little."

"I'll find some food… if there is any…" he said with his eyes on the ceiling, rubbing the back of his neck and Tyshi chuckled.

"Well go look and find out." She said shooing him into the kitchen.

"Fine, fine! I'm going… sheesh…"

Tyshi smiled to herself and leaned back, careful of her back. She grabbed the TV remote and started clicking through the channels until she found the Japanese News Station.

"The latest news, western coastal town burnt to the ground by the fire nation troops. No news of survivors found yet." The news reporter stated emotionlessly.

Tyshi didn't want to believe what she was hearing. The harsh reality was like a slap in the face. The town, her mother, everyone… gone. Tears welled in her eyes.

"The fire nation has put a bounty on two fugitive rebel benders. One rebel is an earth bender and the other a water bender who lived in the town. The earth bender is 19 to 21 years old, male, brown/blonde hair, 6' and green eyes."

There was a loud crash from the kitchen.

"You okay in there?" Tyshi called from the couch, trying to hid the grief and stress in her choice as she quickly wiped away her tears.

"Yeah! Just the 20-year-old canned food wants to kill me… again. Other than that, just fine."

She didn't really listen to his response; she was too engrossed in listening to the broadcast. It didn't seem as if Calen heard the news.

"The water bender is 18 to 21 years olds, female, long brown hair, 5'8" and blue eyes. If you find either one call the Tokyo Police Department ASAP-"

Tyshi turned off the TV, stunned. Calen came waltzing in covered in dust and expired food.

"Looks like you got in a fight with a buffet table and lost horribly." Tyshi said in a joking manner, trying to change the subject. He wrinkled his nose mockingly.

"Hahaha… very cute. Well, I couldn't find anything so I'm gonna take a shower and get ready."

"Hey Calen?"

"Hm?" he grunted, running dusty fingers through his sticky hair.

"Can I have a new shirt? Mine has burnt holes in it and the bandages kinda seeped through the other one."

Calen brushed some flour off his shirt.

"Sure, let me find one." He disappeared from the room and came back a few moments later with a long and baggy t-shirt. "It may be a little big, but it should be fine." He said as he walked by and dropped it on her head teasingly. She pulled the shirt off the top of her head.

"Thanks. Now go wash up… you stink." She said, pinching her nose and pointing for him to leave. Calen punched a closed fist into his open palm in a playful menacing way and Tyshi stuck her tongue out at him before he left the room.

Tyshi peered around the corner to make sure he wasn't coming back. She peeled off what remained of her old shirt and tossed it aside. The bandages on her shoulder and back remained where they were and she didn't dare move them or anything for fear of postponing the healing process. She quickly slipped into the black t-shirt Calen gave her. As she pulled it over her head, she could smell Calen's familiar scent and it somehow comforted her. The shirt fell to mid thigh on her.

"Man this is long." So she grabbed the bottom right of the shirt and tied it in a knot so it now fell to her waist. The shirt grew a bit tighter around her stomach and leaving the top half a bit baggy.

Tyshi then went to the sink and poured herself a glass of water to mess around with. She brought it back to the couch and set it on the table. The water rose in the air on command and was shaped into the fire nation's flame emblem. The edges were slick and smooth, no imperfections were found. The liquid flame twirled slowly on her palm and she blew on it gently and slowly it solidified into a flame of ice. It dropped into her open hand with a soft thud. Tyshi lifted her handy work up to eye level and examined it. The light reflected off the ice and it seemed to glow and lit up her hand. She studied it some more, admiring her work, then her emotions mixed and her hatred for the fire nation overpowered her and the ice sculptor shattered

"You feeling well enough to go out?"

Tyshi turned to find Calen standing behind her dripping wet with just a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Ack!" Tyshi heaved a hand over her eyes and turned her back on him, blushing furiously as the image of his naked and well-toned torso stuck in her head. "At least put some pants on!"

"Sorry about that…" he said abashedly. "I forgot my laundry in the dryer." He walked across the room to the other side of the house. Tyshi didn't want to see if he was gone or not so she called out,

"You have no idea about the images that are going to be stuck in my head because of you!" she shouted accusingly, but she wasn't angry, just teasing him. The dryer closed and Calen had started to say something as he was hopping up and down, then there was a dull crash.

"OW!"

"You okay?" Tyshi ventured dangerously and looked toward the noise.

"Uh, yeah… little help?"

"You descent?"

"Yes, now if you could… JUST HURRY UP!" he shouted exasperatedly.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming, I'm coming…" she followed the noise to a tiled laundry room. "Where are you?"

"Umm… over here…" he said, sounding embarrassed and surprisingly close.

Tyshi turned and couldn't help but laugh at the sight of Calen folded in half with his butt stuck through the wall.

"How'd ya manage that?" she said trying to subdue her laughter as she held out her hand and pried him out of the wall.

"Stupid pants don't like me." He muttered.

"Uh-huh… it's all a conspiracy, right? And the wall, big butt?"

With a flick of his wrist, the wall was fully repaired.

"The wall was made of dirt smarty. Let me get a shirt and we can get going."

In two minutes, both Calen and Tyshi were out the door.

"So how do you train fire benders?"

Calen walked back into town pacing himself so Tyshi could keep up.

"I don't teach them, mainly because when they come here, they are already trained. So I train with them to understand more about their tactics and training."

"Oh, so water and earth bending come naturally to you then?"

"What are you saying?" Calen turned onto a dirt path that headed into the woods.

"I'm saying that you are like the avatar. You know more about the elements then anyone I know of."

"But I'm not." Calen turned at winked at her. "Besides, there are four elements, not three." He continued into the forest.

"I know that! But still, you can basically be the avatar."

"Nah, I think I'll just be me."

"Typical Calen response." Tyshi looked around and noticed that they were walking deeper into the forest. "Where are we going?"  
"Where all the benders train. Out of sight and a good distance from the houses."

"Hey, that's actually pretty smart."

Calen shrugged and kept walking deeper and deeper into the forest.

"Here we are." He stopped so suddenly that Tyshi nearly ran into him.

"Where? Here in the trees?"

"No…" he stood to one side and pulled back a thick tree branch and revealed a cleared and smooth training arena. "Here."

"You did that just for the effect, didn't you?" she accused and he nodded. She peered around and was left breathless because the place had everything. A forest of tall pillars made of earth, plenty of empty space and deep trenches of water that were probably deeper then she was tall, among other things.

"Is this where you train everyday?!"

"Yeah, almost everyone comes here to train."

"I can see why… wait, almost? I thought you said everyone here are benders."

"No. About a third of the people here are the families of the benders."

"Oh." Tyshi looked around but saw no one. "Where is everyone?"

"Somewhere… Ah, there's definitely someone here though, look." He pointed to one of the trenches. Tyshi looked and a ripple disturbed the surface of the water. Then she gasped as a young girl appeared just under the surface.

"Hey Michiko… it's just me." Calen called out to her.

The girl looked relieved and came out of the water and stood on the solid ground next to the trench.

"Hey everyone, its just Calen. Come on out!"

Tyshi soon heard rustling from a tree above. She looked up and saw two people drop from above and land on either side of Michiko. One was a man who looked like he was in his mid 30's, while the other was a woman who looked about the same age.

"Hey Haraki… Katsu." Calen greeted them each in turn. The man nodded first in acknowledgment then the woman in turn as she was greeted. "Where's Tomasu?" There was an exchange of glances then shrugs.

"Tomasu! Tomasu! Where the hell are you?" Michiko called into the woods. A boy came out of the forest brushing himself off. "Where were you?" she asked.

"What?" he asked innocently as the others turned to stare at him.

"Where were you?" she asked again patiently.

"I had some 'business' to attend to." He put the emphasis on business.

"Well, Calen's back, and he's brought a friend." Michiko stated plainly.

"Everyone, this is Tyshi." Calen introduced her and Tomasu took a seat on a log.

"Is this the girl you always talk about?"

"Always talk about, huh?" Tyshi teased softly and Calen blushed slightly.

"Yes, Tyshi, this is Tomasu." He pointed to the ten year old perched on the log.

"What's up?" he greeted her.

"Then there's Haraki and Katsu." He pointed to the adult couple. Tyshi gave a shy wave to the two fire benders and they gave her warm smiles. "Then there's Michiko."

"You're a water bender aren't you Michiko?" Tyshi said eagerly cutting Calen's introductions short. She looked slightly startled then smiled proudly.

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"Cause I am too. I used to live on the western banks."

Michiko smiled incredulously.

"Really? I lived on the eastern coast."

Tyshi felt truly happy for the first time since the fire nation had attacked.

"Wow… oh, sorry about asking so suddenly before. It's just that I never really met another water bender. I'm the only one from the western coast."

"Not a problem. I completely understand."

Tyshi disengaged herself from their conversation and turned to Calen excitedly.

"Hey Cal, if it's okay with Michiko, can I talk with her more one-on-one?"

"It's fine with me. I might even teach her a few things." Michiko interjected enthusiastically then winked at Calen.

"Fine. Just make sure she stays out of the water. She was shot by the fire nation."

"Oh, those bullets? That totally sucks." Tomasu said.

"You're telling me. I bet I can manage though."

Tyshi followed Michiko to a corner of the training arena that had a deep secluded mote surrounding it.

"So how did you end up here?" Michiko asked, gauging her reaction carefully. Tyshi's head dropped instinctively.

"Fire nation troops destroyed my town."

"Oh… I'm so sorry. I was a captive of the fire nation. I was there for five years."

"Wow, I'm sorry. Here I am whining… makes my problems seem like nothing."

"It's okay. Everyone's stories are equally sad."

Tyshi smile weakly from the understanding she was receiving. The two sat in an uncomfortable silence until Tyshi got bored and started to bend a small streamlet into different shapes and Michiko smiled, obviously amused.

"You have a talent as an artist Tyshi."

Tyshi let the stream drop back to the water in embarrassment.

"My dad was an artist. He would sit on the beach and draw on the sand." She sat down on a rock stool while Michiko sat on the ground in front of her like an eager child listening to her story.

"My dad was a bender; a water bender who would draw on the beach. I remember sitting and watching him draw the different elements of the earth."

"Sounds like a nice man. … What happened?"

"He was drawing on the beach like he always did, when the fire nation came and tried to arrest him." Tyshi paused as Michiko gave a small gasp then continued calmly. "But he denied the fact that he was a bender."

That confused Michiko greatly and she questioned timidly, "Why?"

"He never water bended… ever. When he was younger though, he was a bit headstrong."

"So someone from his past told on him? Like revenge or something?"

Tyshi shrugged and continued. "Most likely. But when they gave him the choice to stand down or die, he chose…" she trailed off as emotion choked her off and flooded her eyes in the brine of tears. Michiko bit her lip feeling guilty, sympathetic and awkward along with other unidentified emotions as they filled her kind soul.

"He chose death…?"

Tyshi responded with a simple nod.

"I'm so sorry Tyshi."

"It's fine. It was a long time ago and it was his choice, not mine or my mom's. For a while, I hated him so much. I hated that he abandoned us. Left us alone, forever."

"It isn't your fault." She said softly.

"I know…" Tyshi sniffed and rubbed her reddened eyes on her sleeve.

Michiko stood suddenly. "Stand up…" she said cheerfully smiling.

"Why…?" Tyshi asked baffled.

"I want you to teach me to water bend art." She said merrily. "If your up to it that is…" she said in a playful taunting manner.

"Definitely." She grinned cockily and cleared her throat. "First, ya gotta picture your design mentally and clearly or it will just turn out as a blob or something."

Michiko laughed and closed her eyes with a look of concentration. She then announced, "Okay, got it! Now what?"

"Feel the water, allow it to form in your hands as if sculpting clay."

Michiko's eyes opened as she scrupulously followed instructions and produced a heart.

"Good! Now blow on it so it freezes."

Once more, Michiko obeyed and the water gently crackled and dropped into her open palm. "Yeah!" she squealed in childish delight at her accomplishment.

"That's really good! I couldn't even get it that good first time I tried."

"Oh stop being so modest. I bet you could've if you tried." At this, Tyshi gave a shy smile and Michiko said boastfully, "Now let me show _you_ some art!" Michiko threw her arms up raising a rectangular swell of water with them and blew, freezing it into a block of ice. "Okay… now lets see if I can do this the first time…" she clapped her hands once and gently set it on the ice. She shivered slightly as the cold washed over her. Tyshi watched, curiosity overwhelming her. Without warning, the block of ice suddenly collapsed, but it left behind a slender statue. Upon first examination, it appeared to be a water whip but on closer inspection, Tyshi realized it was a person.

"Wow… that's pretty good."

"Dang, I messed it up. I need to make the bender a lot bigger." Michiko thawed the small bender and created a larger one in its place. "Much better!"

"Hey Tyshi!"

Tyshi turned to see Calen and the others approaching them.

"Hey!" she called joyously waving.

"I see that you two are getting along, but it's getting late and Tyshi needs to get some sleep."

"I'm fine." She mumbled trying to stifle the yawn that seized her as she was reminded of how late it was and how tired she was.

"Right…" Calen said in the way a mother would to a child. "Well, other people need their sleep too ya know."

"Fine, you win." She surrendered with a defeated sigh.

"Ah, don't worry. We'll come back tomorrow and everyone will be back too." He unnecessarily reassured her and she rolled her eyes at him. "Hey Michiko? Can you work with Tyshi on her water bending?"

Michiko stifled her giggles at the sight of Tyshi mocking Calen behind his back. She composed herself enough to say, "Yeah… sure…"

Calen seemed baffled so he glanced behind him; Tyshi stopped quickly, grinned and waved at him innocently.

"Thanks…" he turned back to Michiko and Tyshi took up mocking him again.

"No prob…" she quickly clapped a hand over her mouth to stop her laughter. This time Calen didn't bother to turn around, but rather brought his hand up in a fist and the ground around Tyshi wrapped around her like a hand.

"Hey!" she protested loudly.

"Serves you right." He said simply as he faced her. Tyshi childishly stuck her tongue out at him. "See you guys tomorrow." Calen said as he waved to the group and strode back through the forest, Tyshi being carried behind him by the earthly grasp.

Michiko waved back to their retreating forms and Tomasu whispered to Michiko, "What's up with those two? They act like siblings."

"It may seem that way but… never mind. Your to young to understand."

Tomasu whined, "Oh! Common! Try me!" he crossed his arms over his chest stubbornly and pouted up at her.

"They grew up together and it's obvious they like each other and they might just now be truly learning their feelings."

Tomasu looked at her strangely with an eyebrow raised and said, "Wha…?"

"Ungh… Never mind."

Tomasu scratched his head blankly and everyone watched Calen practically drag Tyshi back to their house.

"This is going to be a long and eventful time together…" Michiko shrugged to herself and continued practicing.

* * *

3 WEEKS LATER

_**Tyshi was finally healed and training with Michiko and the others.**_

"Common Tyshi! I know you can do better than that!" Michiko dodged a water-whip that had been thrown by Tyshi.

"Don't worry… I'm just getting started!" Tyshi kicked a spray of water into the air and blew on it to form large icicles. With both hands in front of her she made a shoving motion and sent them flying directly at her target Michiko.

"Is that all you got?" Michiko lowered herself to the ground slightly but Tyshi clapped her hands and slowly pulled them apart and the icicles doubled in seconds. "Crap…" Michiko muttered to herself and rapidly raised an ice wall to block them.

With the same speed as Michiko, Tyshi set both hands in the water and made as if to grab something; she withdrew two sturdy ice swords from the water. The icicles landed in the wall one after another with loud cracking sounds. Some were even sticking out of the wall through the other side. Michiko made a little peephole in the wall to see Tyshi charging at her with her two glistening swords. Michiko barely had enough time to reach into the wall and pull out a long pole fashioned of ice before Tyshi had jumped on top of the wall. Michiko flicked her wrist and the wall melted out from underneath Tyshi's feet but she quickly created little stepping stools to keep from falling.

Tyshi stood panting, trying to catch her breath, heart in her throat. Michiko twirled the staff and snapped the swords in half. She grinned smugly, thinking it was over and she had won, but Tyshi summoned more water to the broken swords and made them thicker than before.

"Crap." Michiko muttered again and it was Tyshi's turn to smirk. She brought the swords down over her head and Michiko blocked it and chipped away a little of her staff. She was able to kick Tyshi away, but her arms and hands were a little shaky. Michiko gripped her staff a little tighter and brought it down as Tyshi brought her two swords up and formed an 'X' to block and the icy staff chipped again on impact.

Michiko's muscles ached and screamed for rest, but she pushed the sensation to the back of her mind and leaned all her weight on the staff. Both the frigid weapons began to splinter and crack under the pressure until both gave way. The two girls fell forward, but Tyshi was the first to regain her balance. Not only was she the first to regain balance, but Tyshi was also the first to reconstruct her weapons of choice. Tyshi skillfully twirled her ice sword before bringing it down… into a wall of rock and dirt? Tyshi stood in a daze while Michiko looked around the wall and saw Calen.

"I think you lost Michiko." Calen chuckled.

"Oh shut-up. If I can't beat her than neither can you."

That shut him up. "Well… if she's ready and all healed, she will be able to leave."

Tyshi whirled quickly and looked intently in his direction. "Leave? You mean, go back?"

Calen nodded and Tyshi beamed gleefully.

"You serious?!"

"Yeah, unless you want to stay longer." Tyshi glanced at Calen. "Err, never mind… let's go!" Calen turned and headed back to the house.

"I can't believe I can go back." Tyshi's face was filled with joy. "Now I can find my mom and run away with her."

Michiko's smile grew to a grin. "I'm happy for you."

Tyshi looked to Michiko and saw how morose she looked.

"You okay?"

Michiko shrugged. "I don't know. I'm worried of what you are going to find back there." As soon as the words left her mouth, Tyshi's face filled with doubt.

"Like what?" it was a stupid question because she already knew what.

"I rather not say, but I don't want you to get hurt."

Tyshi looked down and Michiko felt a wave of guilt wash over her.

"But hey, don't listen to me. It's supposed to be a happy time! I'm sure your mom's fine."

Tyshi looked up and hugged Michiko. "Thanks for everything"

"No prob… now go."

Tyshi let go and ran off. She faded from sight, but a strange feeling was stirring in Michiko's gut. 'I have a bad feeling about this.' She thought to herself.

* * *

Tyshi ran down the hill after Calen dodging trees both standing and laying on their sides. The forest was unusually dark.

"What's up with the lighting?" Tyshi slowed to a stop as she walked past the last few trees. She saw Calen talking to a pilot as she emerged from the darkened forest.

"Hey Tyshi! Let me check your wounds then we can head out."

Tyshi nodded and followed Calen into the house. He sat down on the couch while she fetched a footstool from a chair nearby and sat on it in front of Calen.

"Come sit." Tyshi did and pulled up her shirt just enough to reveal a light scar. "Looks good so far." He ran two fingers over the scar and she shivered at his touch. "What's wrong?"

"Your hands are cold." Tyshi lied. His hands were actually really warm; she didn't know what in his gentle touch sent shivers down her spine.

"Oh, sorry about that… just bare with me for another minute."

Tyshi nodded and pulled her shirt down again. He pushed up her sleeve and examined her shoulder.

"Now the leg. Please turn and set your leg up here."

Tyshi turned and hoisted her leg up and he once more ran his fingers over the smooth satin scar tissue.

"Looks good!" he announced, obviously satisfied, "Now get packed and changed and we'll leave."

Tyshi grinned and hopped up and padded on the floor headed for Calen's room. She stopped at the doorway and turned, "Hey Calen?"

He looked over to her expectantly, "What?"

She sighed and smiled at him. "Thanks."

"For what?"

"For everything. You know, being there at the right time and helping me when I nearly die of depression and stress or literally."

He emitted a small laugh. "You don't have to thank me."

"Yes I do. You're the only one who saves my butt all the time. Even if you're in danger yourself."

He just shrugged. "No prob. Now… Get ready!"

Tyshi stuck her tongue out at him before disappearing.

By the time Tyshi was ready Calen was tapping his foot impatiently and looking at his watch.

"Common Ty!"

She came out wearing torn blue jeans and the oversized shirt he'd given her months ago.

"I'm coming! Stop whining." She sighed as she put her hair up in a ponytail.

"We're late!" Calen exclaimed, throwing his arms into the air. Tyshi looked at the clock on the VCR, 2:35.

"Only five minutes. He won't go anywhere and plus, there isn't any rush."

Calen shook his head, "Not true. If we don't leave now he won't take us 'til Saturday!"

"Then what are we waiting for?" Tyshi ran to Calen, took him by the arm and yanked him through the door and they both ran down towards the ocean shores where the plane was waiting. Both the teens let out a sigh of relief as the plane came into view. As they came nearer, the same pilot strode out from under the plane looking highly annoyed.

"What took you so long?! I run a tight schedule here." He checked his watch, "Five minutes!" he shouted, exasperated. Calen calmly held up a hand to silence him.

"If that's the case, why didn't you leave?"

Tyshi stared at him, her mouth agape, clearly shocked. 'What is he saying?! Is he _crazy_?!' she thought to herself in disbelief.

The man looked at Calen, then relaxed. "I didn't leave because you and I go back." The man hit the side of the plane and the door fell open. Calen smirked and lead Tyshi into he plane.

"What did he mean when you he said, you went back?" Tyshi whispered to Calen as he led her to the fourth and last row on the right side of the plane.

"He is an old friend who went on adventures with me when I wasn't over at your house." They both sat down.

"Does this old friend have a name?"

"Azumo."

The plane started up and lurched forward before rising into the air. Tyshi looked out the window, watching the small town disappear beneath the snow white clouds.

Hours passed as Tyshi once again looked out the window of the small plane. Tyshi lost track of how many times she looked out the small window during the whole trip. Each time she only saw the sun moving across the sky while the clouds change with each passing glance.

But this time she looked down to see the clouds clearing, showing the sea below. It looked calm from above, but Tyshi could fell the push and pull of the ocean from thousands of feet in the air. That surprised her slightly. As she looked out over the sea below she started to notice that the water was getting lighter and lighter as the minutes passed. But before Tyshi could get a better look of the water, clouds began to coalesce, blocking her view.

A voice broke the silence of the plane. "Guys, if you look out the window as the clouds clear up, you can see Japan just below."

Tyshi jumped at the sudden sound and looked out eagerly through the small window watching as the clouds began to clear. Tyshi was on the edge of her seat as Japan came into view. Everything looked normal so far, but they were still high in the air.

"Calen! We're here!" she turned to face him but noticed that he had drifted into a light sleep. She smiled and turned her attention to the window again.

"How close are we?" he said, surprising Tyshi who had figured he was sleeping.

"Right above Japan. Azumo is circling around as we get closer."

Calen sat up and stretched. "So another twenty minutes?" Tyshi shrugged in answer. "In that case… wake me up when we land." Then Calen slumped down further into the seat and leaned his head against the back and fell asleep. Tyshi rolled her eyes and continued to stare out the window.

Within minutes, Japan began to grow bigger and bigger. Soon all Tyshi could see was the ground below. When they landed, she jumped from her chair, careful not to disturb the sleeping Calen and jogged up to the front where Azumo was.

"Hey… where are we?"

He turned in his seat, "We're in the countryside where I first picked you two up."

"Why didn't you take us to the coast?"

Azumo fiddled with some switches and gauges.

"If the fire nation troops attacked there once, who's to say they won't still be there? I'm sorry, but you're on your own."

Tyshi sighed but set a hand on his shoulder and smiled.

"Thanks anyways."

Azumo smiled back and handed her a small business card.

"If you need anything, just give me a call." Azumo winked and turned back to the controls and continued fiddling with the switches and gauges. Tyshi exited the cockpit and looked down at the small white card. All it had on it was a phone number, nothing else. She pocketed the card and walked back to her seat and Calen, still fast asleep.

"Hey Cal. Wake up… we're here. Calen?"

Calen groaned and mumbled under his breath, "Five more minutes mom." Calen snored. Tyshi had to press a hand firmly over her mouth to suppress her giggles.

"But mommy says that there's gonna be a tsunami." She grabbed a cup of water that she had been messing with when she wasn't staring out the window and poured it on Calen's head.

He screamed and jolted up, his head dripping.

"HEY! What was that for?!" Tyshi tried to look innocent as he glared at her.

"Your wake up call." She grinned widely.

"You could have chosen a different method or at least warn me…" he grumped.

"But mommy did." Tyshi said teasingly as she tickled under his chin.

"You are so dead!" he lunged out of his seat at her and she ran down the plane's aisle with playful little screams. Tyshi jumped from the doorway and hit the dirt running, Calen close behind her.

"Gotcha!" he exclaimed as he caught her round the waist and spun her around. Calen lost his balance and both of them tumbled backwards on the grass.

Tyshi rolled off of Calen and lay on the grass next to him panting.

"I'm sorry, am I interrupting something here?" Azumo asked as he came around the side of the plane wiping his hand on an old worn towel.

Calen quickly jumped to his feet and brushed back his brown/blonde hair abashedly, then helped Tyshi to her feet.

"Uh, not really…" he became serious again. "Thanks for the ride. Call you if I need another favor?"

"Of course." Azumo waved and walked back to his plane.

"See yah Azumo!" Tyshi said energetically. Azumo disappeared behind his plane before it started up again.

"Now, let's head to the coast."

Tyshi turned and nodded at Calen, smiling.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Calen led Tyshi behind the house and lowered his hands. The ground beneath them slowly sank below the surface. The only light came from the opening above them.

Tyshi squinted, trying to adjust to the dark before Calen flicked his wrist and closed off most of the entrance, but he left a little room for light to pour in. He pulled out another flashlight, shook it and switched on the light. The sudden light blinded Tyshi for a second before Calen lowered it to his feet. Tyshi was rubbing her eyes.

"Ouch… that's very, _very_ bright."

Calen smiled and shrugged.

"Sorry, I didn't think it was that bright."

"Hand me the flashlight. You lost your privileges."

Tyshi heard him say, "Aww…" before handing it over.

"Let's move." Tyshi began to walk when she heard a strange sound coming from the ground before a platform came up underneath both of them "What's the big idea?"

"I've got a better way to travel, so hand on tight."

Tyshi was about to ask why before the platform rose into the air and zoomed down the tunnel. At the unexpected speed, she lost her balance and fell into Calen who was standing behind her. He wrapped a strong arm around her to keep her steadied as they moved on swiftly.

"Tyshi, can you hold up the flashlight for me? I can't see."

She realized that she had accidentally switched it off when she had stumbled.

"Oh, right… hold on." Tyshi shook it before turning it on. The tunnel was passing by really fast, much faster than she had expected.

"Calen, how long till the coast?" Tyshi could feel the rock underneath slowing down a little.

"Here." He said smugly and when the rock slowed to a stop and snapped his fingers. The platform shrank before rising.

"I can't believe I'm back… I need to find my mother and tell her what happened over the past few weeks.

Calen opened his mouth to say something, closed it again and stood silent for a moment before saying, "Tyshi… can I talk to you before we head up?"

"Sure."

The platform stopped and Calen placed his strong hands on Tyshi's slender shoulders.

"I can't guarantee that I can always protect you."

"What do you mean?" she sat down next to him, sounding and looking concerned as she turned off the flashlight and let the darkness wash over them.

Calen sighed, "I'm saying that I can't stop things from happening." Tyshi nodded.

"I know." She said quietly, almost in a whisper.

"So whatever happens up there, promise me that you walk it off and get on with your life. Even if it's painful.

Calen was scaring Tyshi, a lot. Why was he telling her this? Was this another way to protect her?

"I promise." Tyshi embraced Calen; he held Tyshi close and could feel her shaking against his chest. After a few minutes Calen said to her quietly.

"Now if you're ready to go through this, I'll go with you. Or, if you're not, I'll never leave you. I will always find a way back to you."

Now there was only a slight tremor traveling along her body.

"I'm ready." She broke away from his embrace and slipped off her ring that she always wore on her right hand. "Take this." She dropped the small silver ring in his hand.

"But Tyshi… isn't this the ring your father gave you?" Even though Calen couldn't see the ring, he knew what it looked like. It was a small, silver ring that had an ice crystal in the center.

"Yeah… the crystal in the middle is special. It's pure ice, but it…"

"…it never melts." Calen finished her sentence and she nodded.

"Let's just say that it's a way to think of me, you know, when the ocean isn't nearby."

Calen pulled Tyshi into another hug, slipped it on to a thick chain he always wore around his neck and whispered in her ear. "Thank you."

Suddenly Calen's head perked up and he sniffed the air.

"What?" Tyshi let go.

"Burnt flesh."

Chills ran up and down her spine as the putrid smell invaded her nose. The scent of singed hair and burnt wood filled the tunnel.

"No…" she whispered horrified. "Open the tunnel!"

Immediately Calen snapped his fingers and the ceiling above them opened up to a gray gloomy sky with black curling smoke that blew westward with the wind. Tyshi felt her legs give out as she gazed over the charred remains of her town.

Her breath caught in her throat and tears stung her eyes. Calen was behind her with his arms on her narrow shoulders.

"Walk it off Ty. Now isn't the time to break down."

Numbly, Tyshi clambered to her feet and wiped her tears on the backs of her hands.

Without actually realizing what she was doing or saying she blurted out, "I need to find mom…" and her legs carried her swiftly toward the coast.

Tyshi couldn't see through the blur of her tears, but her legs seemed to know exactly where to go. They carried her swiftly to a dark pile of ashes and rubble. Tyshi fell to her knees and she just lost control. She pawed through the remains of her home, shoveling madly through the ashes and flinging charred chunks of wood and other debris behind her.

"Tyshi! Ty! You've got to calm down! Tyshi!" Calen was still several yards away but he could tell the composed and calm shell of hope that was protecting her heart had shattered. He had to stop her, calm her down, hold her and try to comfort her before she was seriously harmed. He walked forward boldly, blocking the flying debris as he went. A splintered PVC pipe came hurtling at his head, but he calmly raised an arm and the sharp, broken end sliced through the bare flesh of his forearm, but he continued on, paying no mind to the crimson blood welling to the surface.

Tyshi had stopped digging through the rubble and was sitting still, her back to him, silently sobbing again. He stood over her and opened his mouth to say something, but thought it better not to. He peered over her shoulder to see what was clutched in her soot-covered hands. A battered and singed ring box that was remarkably still in one piece sat open on the palm of her hand. Inside was a silver ring that glittered as the few rays of sun reflected off the sapphire in the middle and the three small diamonds on either side.

"My mother's wedding ring." Tyshi said in a shaky voice that was barely audible. At this point, she was beyond tears. The fact and realization that her mother was really gone just as her father was and she was all alone… Calen knew that feeling all too well. Both his parents had died when he was ten in a car accident. Calen had all the empathy in the world for Tyshi and knew that what she needed the most now was to know she was not alone.

"Ty…I, I…" He couldn't think of anything to say because there was nothing to say, but words were of no use at this moment anyways. Only when Calen sat down and pulled the motionless Tyshi onto his lap and held her did she finally come to terms with what was going on. She cried and sobbed, buried her face in his chest and clung to him like she would never let go and he held her as if he never would.

After a while, there were no tears left to be shed. Both sat there, comforting one another without words and finally Tyshi broke away.

"You're always there for me." She whispered and stood up. Calen stood next to her as she undid the clasp on the fine chain around her neck. She took the ring that had been clasped in her hand and strung it on, then replaced the chain around her neck.

"Now she'll always be with me." Tyshi said with a small smile and wiped her eyes on the back of her hands.

Tyshi astonished Calen. It was amazing, the fact that someone could go through so much and still have the strength to smile. He couldn't help but smile too. The ragged smile on her face disappeared as she strode over to a glinting object in the ashes. Tyshi knelt and picked up a fire nation badge with a flame emblem on it. She stood, glaring at it and closed her fingers tightly around the badge.

"Those disgusting, mindless…" she said bitterly.

"Tyshi." Calen cut her off. "We should get going."

"No! I'm not leaving until I get revenge!"

"Tyshi stop! You promised you'd walk it off. Look at yourself. Revenge isn't going to help. Revenge isn't going to restore your town and it's not going to bring your mother back!" He was frustrated and shouting, but the second he said it, he instantly regretted it. Tyshi's eyes began to water again from this fresh blow.

"Tyshi, I didn't… I…"

"Just stay away from me!" She shouted and ran off.

"Tyshi! Wait! I'm…" She was out of hearing distance as he stood there pathetically in self-loathing "…sorry." Calen furiously pounded his closed fist against his head. "Stupid, stupid, stupid! How could I be so insensitive?!" He sighed and passed a hand over his brow. "I just didn't want her to get hurt… I have to make sure she's okay." He raised an arm over his head and an earth platform rose underneath him and sped in the direction Tyshi had run off in.

"Tyshi! Tyshi I'm sorry! Where are you?" Calen saw movement through the thick foliage up ahead. He cautiously stepped off his conjured platform and walked towards the movement.

"Ty…?"

Just then, several sharp icicles passed just inches from him. He whirled to the source and saw Tyshi standing there, preparing for another attack.

"I probably deserved that and more, but please, just hear me out. I'm sorry I…"

"Calen move!"

"What…?" He looked at her dazed.

A stream of water solidified into an ice bridge over his head and he could see the dark shadow of Tyshi running over it.

"What is going on?!" He shouted and ran out from under the ice bridge to see Tyshi charging at a fire nation soldier.

"Oh no…" he sprinted in the direction of the fire nation soldier. Calen whipped his hand upward, shooting the man into the air and flung his right arm across his face, conjuring a rock beam and smacking the man like a baseball. He fell into a pile of ashes, slightly dazed. Tyshi leaped off her bridge and walked over to the fallen fire nation soldier. Water began to form down her arm and into an ice sword.

"Tyshi stop! We need to leave now!" Calen grabbed her arm that was still free, but she pulled out of his grasp and continued forward. When she was a few feet away from the vulnerable troop, she twirled the sword above her head, ready to strike.

"Stop Tyshi!" Calen was getting frantic. He clapped his hands together, turned them palms up, lifted and created a barrier around Tyshi so she couldn't move.

"Look at yourself! Look at what you've become! What would your mother and father think?"

Tyshi turned to him outraged, "Don't you dare bring them up!" Tyshi seeped water into the cracks of the rock.

"But look at yourself. You're about to kill a fire nation troop when he's down!"

"And I will!"

Calen's head drooped in sorrow and disappointment. Then he let her go.

"Then you might as well join them Ty, but I won't let you kill him."

"Aww… how touching." A gruff foreign voice announced from near the fallen troop. There stood not just one, but at least six others.

"If I had eaten today, I would've thrown up."

Calen guessed that the man who had just spoken was the captain. Tyshi merely grasped her ice sword harder.

"You're gonna pay for what you've done to my family." She was shaking with anger and the ocean was beginning to churn violently.

"Ty…" Calen whispered. "Ty, listen to me. We're outnumbered seven to two. We need to run."

"Again? Never." She hissed back angrily. "But you can leave if you want."

Calen took a step forward and stood at her side.

"Not without you."

Tyshi couldn't help but smile a small tight smile; she was grateful he had stayed by her side.

"Then expect to be here for a while." Tyshi said confidently.

Calen nodded and both sank low to the ground.

"On my signal, you take the three on the left while I get the other four."

"Whatever. So long as I get the captain."

Before Calen could answer, a stream of fire shot between them.

"Whoops… I missed." The captain sneered then snapped his fingers. The seven men split up and charged Calen and Tyshi. The three Tyshi was stuck with shot wave after wave of fire at her. She barely had time to dodge and block each wave as she fell to one knee in exhaustion. Tyshi was breathing hard as the small group circled her, trying to catch their breath as well. The soldiers continued pacing around her, waiting for the right moment to attack. Tyshi slowed her breathing, allowing her to focus more readily. The three fire nation soldiers stopped pacing and when a bead of sweat ran down her neck, one man stepped forward and increased her in a cage of fire.

"Damn." She muttered to herself as the cage started to contract. The man smirked and shot a stream of fire at her. Tyshi had only seconds to dodge the immense heat of the fire. She ducked and could feel the heat of it as it whizzed over her head. 'Dang, I hope Calen's doing better than me.' She thought.

Not too far away, Calen was blocking the fire blasts with a light yet sturdy stone shield on his arm. Fortunately, each fiery blast bounced harmlessly.

"Common boy! Do something!" They taunted him s they continued their fiery bombardment. "You can't block forever!"

Calen realized he was right. The flame may bounce off the stone shield, but the heat was seeping through. The flames of attack seemed to be getting worse as Calen started to tire out. The men who were attacking him started to chuckle as their fire began to overpower him.

"Common boy! Attack us! If you don't you're bound to lose and to be honest, this is a little too boring." The man who shouted sent a huge fireball and the impact was so great, that when Calen blocked it, it caused him to skid backwards a little ways.

"Try this on for size." He muttered to himself. He stomped his foot into the ground. Soon stone pillars shot up from the ground, knocking all four men to the ground. Calen dropped his stone shield to the ground for it was too hot to hold any longer, then he reached into the soil and withdrew two arms length poles. Calen skillfully twirled the poles above his head then rested them behind his back. The soldiers were recovering as they sat up, groaning.

"Damn kid… he's going to pay for that!"

As they all picked themselves off the ground, Calen didn't allow them the chance to fully recover. He charged at the first man, smacking both sticks on his left side, breaking at least two ribs. The soldier cried out in pain as he fell to his knees, then his side and curled up with his arms clutching his chest.

The second man looked from the first fallen troop to Calen in fear; before he had time to do anything; a stone pole came flying at him. The pole was traveling at least twenty miles an hour before striking the soldier straight in the chest. Calen could hear the cracking of bones and the man fell motionlessly to the ground.

The third man panicked and ran over to the second man. He reached for the pole across the man's chest and tried to pick it up, but it refused to move.

"How can it be that heavy when that boy just threw it that fast?!"

But before he could say another word, a wall of stone clammed into him, sending him flying for the open sea.

Calen held out his hand and the stone pole that weighed too much for the third fire nation soldier to lift came right back to him. Now the odds were even: One on one. The fourth man was frozen where he stood as Calen inched forward. With each step forward, the soldiers fear heightened.

"What are you?!" He shouted for lack of a better question in his panicked state.

"Someone you should've left alone." Calen smirked evilly.

He raised the stone poles over his head and swung them towards the soldier's stomach, knocking him out cold. Calen didn't get a chance to rest as fire erupted from the three fire nation soldiers that remained and to his horror, Tyshi was in the middle of the swirling flames, her sword had melted.

"Tyshi!" He screamed to his friend.

She turned and saw Calen for a second before a blast of fire hit her square on the back.

"Oh no…"

Fear washed over him as he watched Tyshi fall to the ground.

"Dammit!" Calen stomped his foot into the ground and rose his arms up causing the ground under the three soldiers to shoot up and sent them flying.

"Tyshi…" Calen ran to the motionless girl lying on the ground. He fell to his knees and set her head on his lap. His heart was in his throat as he pressed the back of his hand to her cheek. It was ice cold and to his surprise, Tyshi slowly opened her eyes.

"Calen? What happened?" Tyshi slowly sat up and winced.

"You okay?" Calen asked in worried urgency.

"Yeah, just got the wind knocked out of me."

"But how? That's all…?"

Tyshi took his hand and guided it to her back, which was as cool as her cheek had been.

"Oh… You had me worried." He sighed in relief.

"I'm sorry, but it's nice to know you care." She smiled, then her eyes widened as she saw a huge fireball coming at them. Tyshi gasped and quickly wrapped her arms around Calen. She closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. The fireball struck with great force and heat, but they were protected from the damage by a sturdy casing of ice that had enveloped them both. Tyshi had saved them from the heat, but not the impact of the blow; Calen and Tyshi were sent hurtling backwards. They were headed on a collision course with the stone pillar Calen had made earlier, but Calen pushed Tyshi away from himself and out of the way. Calen wasn't able to dodge however and hit it full force, breaking his left wrist and sent a shock of pain through his body.

Wave after wave of aching soreness through his whole body as Calen tried to sit up; a pair of hands picked him up violently.

"Look who's stuck now big shot." The captain said standing over him smugly. Calen's first reaction was to check on Tyshi who was now getting up. Then he noticed another thing, she was standing on discolored soil.

"Not her…" he muttered to himself. As he spoke, the ground underneath Tyshi collapsed. She fell about seven feet into the tunnel they had used to get here. Tyshi didn't have time to react before the hole closed up, leaving her in darkness. Tyshi looked around in a fearful panic for Calen wasn't with her.

"Calen! Calen!" she shouted as she jumped up trying to open up the tunnel again, but it was no use. "Calen…no…" Tyshi knew it was useless to try to get out, but she didn't just want to leave Calen by himself. It was happening all over again. Everything she loved was being taken away from her by the fire nation.

Tyshi collapsed on the ground and sobbed for a good twenty minutes or so before she composed herself and dragged her numb body miserably down the tunnel that led to Calen's house.

A few hours later, she saw the light at the end of the tunnel. She squinted up at the opening in the ceiling and heard the creek nearby bubbling merrily. Tyshi was bitter as she created a slick stairway from the cool water and she forced herself into the dusty house. Her shuffling feet and leaden legs carried her slowly to Calen's room and she laid her aching, depressed body on his bed. Her heavy head sunk into his pillow and she deeply and slowly inhaled the familiar scent of his cologne. Tyshi cried herself to sleep, inhaling her lost friend's warm and comforting scent.

For about two days Tyshi hadn't moved. She hadn't even eaten; she just couldn't bring herself to do it. On her third day of sulking, she noticed a little envelope on top of his dresser. Curiosity was getting the best of her, she slowly walked over and picked up the envelope, turning it over in her tired and frail hands.

"Might as well." She mumbled to herself quietly as she lifted the flap and poured the contents of the envelope into her hand.

It turned out that the envelope had several pictures in it. She took them back to the bed where she sat on the edge and flipped through them. Some were of Calen's parents, or snapshots of him and his family. She continued flipping and found several of her and her family; she even found an old one of her father. Then she found one of Azumo and Calen standing in front of Azumo's plane; it must have been one of the missions Calen had mentioned. But most pictures showed Calen and Tyshi at different ages.

She paused on one particular picture and thought back to the day it was taken. She couldn't remember everything, but she did remember that on that day they had been practicing some small scale bending tricks when some older bullyboys walked by…

_"Hey guys, look at the freaks." The leader told his buddies and they all laughed sneeringly in unison._

_ "Ignore them, they're just jealous idiots." She muttered quietly and Calen nodded, ignoring them; apparently though, Tyshi hadn't said it quietly enough._

_ "What did you say you little brat?!" The leader took a menacing step forward, balling a fist and the other two did the same. Tyshi shied away and Calen stepped between her and the bullies._

_ "Leave her alone." He warned them._

_ "Or what?" He came a few steps closer. He motioned to the boy on his left and he came forward and pushed Calen down and out of the way. With his path now cleared, the leader boy walked up to Tyshi and grabbed her wrists before she could run. "Wanna say that again, runt?" He sneered in her face._

_ "I said, leave…her…ALONE!"_

_A softball sized rock hit the head bully square in the jaw. Upon impact, he released Tyshi and fell to the ground, clutching his face and a dribble of blood ran down his chin._

_ Calen stood over the leader, spinning three more softball sized rocks around his hand. "Now, leave us alone."_

_ The bully needed no more incentive to leave. He clambered to his feet and ran off, his friends close behind. Calen let the rocks fall to the ground before turning to Tyshi. _

_ "You alright?"_

_Tyshi hugged him in reply. "Thanks Calen."_

_ "Sure, I'll always protect you."_

The words echoed in Tyshi's mind. I'll always protect you. Calen had kept his promise even after all these years; he had lived up to it again. She looked down at her hands in self loathing. She had been making no attempt to do anything. No, she would do something. She'd train and get even _better_, and then _she_ would save Calen.

Tyshi picked up the phone and dialed the number on a small white card.

"Hi Azumo? Yeah, I'm going to need a ride to South Korea… Immediately."

* * *

Hey guys, this is Sarahplainntall. If anyone is reading this, I'd REALLY appreciate some kinda review or comment, even if they're flames, though I'd prefer something positive. I've been working on this since 2005, and just now decided to get back into it, so I'd really love to know that someone is reading this because all I really want is for someone to actually read this and like it. I already have up to Ch. 7 written, and I feel that I shouldn't post anymore if no one's reading it. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE COMMENT! I'm BEGGING you!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It has been nearly three years since the attack upon the costal town of Japan. Calen is still a captive of the great fire nation.

Calen awoke with a slight pain in his back. He was leaning carefully against the metal walls of his cell. He groaned in pain as he tried to stand, relieving the pressure from his sore back. As he did so, the crusted blood came off his green prison shirt as he slowly stretched his scarred back.

There was a loud clicking sound of the metal door opening from the far hallway. Regularly during the first year, he was terrified of the sound because he knew that trouble soon followed.

Calen soon heard soft footsteps slowly coming down the hall towards him. He strode to his bed and sat down, waiting for the person to come in. There was a low hissing sound that came from the steel door and it whooshed open revealing a girl a little older than Calen.

"Morning… how do you feel?"

The girl was about 5'10", long black hair tied up and golden eyes. She wore a long black trench coat with red trim and on her back was a large flame emblem.

Calen turned his back to the girl and pulled up his shirt showing her old scars and newer crusted over cuts. "You tell me Nami."

**The first year that Calen had been captive of the fire nation was rough, but ever since the first day, Nami helped him through the three long years. Ever since he was assigned to Nami, the days seemed to be a lot easier.**

** Nami was born in Tokyo when the emperor first put the bender law into affect (all other benders and the disloyal fire benders were to be imprisoned). She was raised to serve the lord of the fire nation, but to Calen's knowledge, something went wrong on one of her training missions. She wound up in the hospital for a couple months before she was able to take time off. After that, everything seemed normal on the outside, but inside, her loyalty was shattered into nothing.**

** Now the only person she has any trust towards is the earth bender, Calen.**

Nami grinned and took a quick glance out the cell door. No one was around so she closed the door slightly.

"Here, eat this quickly before Junsaku arrives." Nami quickly pulled out a couple slices of bread and a bottle of water from her trench coat.

"Thanks." Calen took the bread and water. Calen finally managed to summon the courage to ask something he had been dying to ask her for a long time. "Why are you helping me?" he quickly finished off his bread while she hesitated to answer him.

"You remind me of a person long ago. Someone close to me."

"Who?" Calen opened the water and chugged it all in one sip.

"Brother… but he's dead now."

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine." She replied dismissively. "Hurry and finish before Captain Junsaku comes down."

Calen quickly closed the bottle and handed it to her and she tucked it away into her trench coat and opened the door again.

"Nami…" she glanced back at him. "How long has it been since I was a assigned here?"

"Three years." Nami looked away and went out the door, locking it behind her. Calen shuddered at the thought of his three-year captivity.

"Tyshi… I hope you got out okay." He whispered to himself and the door hissed open again, but this time it wasn't Nami. It was Junsaku, the fire nation captain.

Junsaku was a thirty five year old who had once served the emperor directly until he was demoted to captain. He was distinguishable by the long scar across his chin and he his yellow-flecked eyes typical of fire benders and dark spiked hair. Junsaku wore a trench coat like Nami's but a little fancier with the government arrows of a captain.

"Has it really been three years, earth bender?" he said with a sneer.

"Three long and wonderful years." Calen responded in a mock tone.

Junsaku gave a quick cruel smile as he strode over to Calen. He bent over him, his face only an inch away before he uppercut him in the gut. Calen grunted, doubled over clutching his stomach and fell to his knees sucking in air painfully.

"Have I told you lately that I absolutely despise your rebellious attitude? I'm going to miss our fun little sessions together, but your getting to be a real pain in the ass." Junsaku bent and jerked Calen's head up by tugging on his long hair that fell past his ears. "Now, your going to tell me where the other fugitive benders are hiding, or else."

"Or else what? Kill me? Go right ahead."

Junsaku smiled and lifted his head a little higher.

"Oh how I would enjoy that, but I have a better idea. If you don't tell me, I will send every fire nation soldier across the globe…" Junsaku leaned closer and hissed in his ear, "to find _her_."

At these words, Calen fought to be free of his grasp, but instead the captain's free hand clutched Calen's throat. Junsaku then stood, pulling Calen up with him then he threw him down against the far wall.

"I'll let you think about it." He left the room and closed the door and Calen lunged at him, but the door shut in his face. Frustrated and angry, Calen pounded his fists against the steel door before sliding down in a miserable heap on the floor. Outside the cell stood Nami.

"Anything sir?"

"Be patient Nami. In time, the earth bender will break and tell us where to find the fugitive benders." He said with a sadistic smile.

"And after he spills?"

"Then I have no further use for him."

"And the girl?"

His malicious smile returned eerily. "Use your imagination Nami. Until then, keep watch over the earth bender."

"Yes sir." She said, lowering her gaze and bowing as Junsaku strode past her and upstairs to the second level of the prison. Nami waited a few minutes to make sure he was gone before she opened the door again.

"Is it just me, or is Junsaku getting cheerier?" Calen said with bitter sarcasm. Nami smiled and helped him to his feet.

"You okay?" she asked and he nodded.

"Does he really mean it? Is he really going to find Tyshi?" he asked quietly, avoiding her gaze and she sighed.

"Knowing the captain… I think so."

"What will he do?"

Nami knew exactly what he was going to do to the girl.

"I… I don't know."

Calen seemed to shut down.

"I guess my only option right now is to tell."

"No!" Nami yelled, shocked and horrified. "Don't you dare give up! If you do, hundreds of people will die."

"I know! But Tyshi… she's my friend."

"So is everyone else in that camp."

There was a long pause and in that time, Calen realized that it was more than Tyshi's life on the line.

"So, what would you suggest?"

"Escape." Calen's heart skipped a beat before she continued. "Here's what we're going to do…"

* * *

There was a loud buzz and the cell doors opened up. Fire nation guards escorted the prisoners down the hall to a large room made entirely of steel. Nami was at Calen's side and whispered to him.

"Remember what I said. Get as many people as you can to help… your gonna need it."

Calen nodded and walked off. As the last of the prisoners entered the room, Nami closed the door and checked her watch. 8:30 am, fifteen hours and thirty minutes until the plan was put into effect.

Calen weaved through the large room until he reached a girl who was about the same age as him. She was about 5'9", just a little taller than Tyshi, a little chubby and she had short dark hair that was matted and tangled. She wore a ragged and dirty red shirt to signify she was a fire bender.

Taking long strides, he made his way towards her and hurriedly whispered the plan to her.

"Who are you?" she asked when he was done explaining.

"Just someone who wants out. Now… tell everyone you can."

The girl nodded and jogged to the opposite side of the room.

Midnight came and Calen was lying on his musty cot, staring through the small barred window in the door at the line of lights along the ceiling. They all flickered off, and then there was a strange clicking form all the doors. The power was out, meaning the automatic door locks were turned off as well.

There was an immediate swarm of prisoners in the halls. The back up generator kicked in, but there was only enough power to turn on the lights again. The first wave had reached the front doors of the prison before the fire nation soldiers knew what was going on and able to get there. The fire bending prisoners were the only ones able to effectively fight hand to hand, unfortunately there weren't many of them. However, other prisoners on the second floor in the nearby cells began dropping the metal cot frames on the soldiers below. Each cot took out an average of five men and soon the prisoner's path was clear enough to get through the doors to the outside.

Waiting outside was a massed group of soldiers armed with stun guns. Calen, who was near the front, stopped while others carelessly passed him. All who charged were shot and fell to the ground, unconscious. Calen looked around and though he was outside, there was no bending material for him to use; everything outside was paved with steel.

Calen recognized one of the prisoners. It was the fire-bending girl from before so he ran over to her.

"If you can get me past them," he pointed to the soldiers. "I can get you out. I know how to open the gate."

"Deal." She shook his hand and took off running at the soldiers, Calen right behind her. The girl washed a wave of hungry flames hurtling at them. Some moved out of the way while others blocked, either way, it was enough of a diversion for both to pass through unharmed. Then she turned and created a tall firewall that slowed the soldiers more, allowing Calen and herself to make it all the way down to the gate before they were able to continue their pursuit.

"Let's see… the code was 022087." Calen punched the numbers on the keypad and the gate unlocked. Both escaping prisoners ran through and slammed the door shut behind them as the soldiers came charging down at them.

Calen and the girl ran towards the darker part of the closest city, Tokyo. Both escaped prisoners ran as far as their legs would take them. They collapsed in a dark alleyway when their leaden legs refused to take them any further.

"Do… do you think… they'll find us?" the girl panted.

"No. Not if… we get rid of… our trackers." He said between gasped breaths.

"Trackers?"

"The fire nation injected everyone with tracking devices when we were asleep or unconscious." Calen said getting his breathing controlled. "They put them in our backs so it's harder for us to get them out." He had pulled out a concealed knife Nami had given him while he was explaining.

"I'll get yours out if you get mine." She said.

"Fair enough." He handed her the knife, turned around and lifted the back of his tattered green shirt.

"Ah! I see where it is."

Calen could feel the bite of the cold steel as she dug under the skin to remove the small bit of technology.

"By the way, I'm Katoram."

"Calen."

"Done." She handed him a small bloody computer chip.

"Thanks. Your turn."

She too gave him the knife, turned and lifted the back of her shirt. Calen saw a little scar tissue with a dark mark underneath and carefully dug the tip of the blade into her flesh. After a few quiet moments, he held the second chip on the palm of his hand.

"We should destroy them."

"No. I have a better idea. We want to lead them off our trail, right? So we throw them into the gutter and the water will carry them somewhere else."

"You know, you're smarter than you look Calen."

"Uh… thanks, I guess." He walked to a gutter opening and the let them fall.

"Where are you going to go now?" Calen asked.

"I dunno. I can't go home. I left there on purpose because I didn't want the fire nation coming after me and hurting everyone else. You see, my dad's a fire bender and doesn't support the fire nation and my mom's a water bender."

"So they don't like the union between your parents?"

"I guess, but they're mainly interested in getting me because I use to cause some problems. My two little water bending brothers used to plan trouble and I'd carry it out. And you? Why were you put away? I mean, what'd ya do to bring attention to yourself?"

"Pretty much the same. Got in a couple fights, stirred up trouble. Stuff like that."

"So… where are you going to go?"

"I'm gonna find a friend of mine." He saw the eager look on her face and continued. "Your welcome to come if you'd like."

"Sure!"

The two fugitives were able to sneak out of Tokyo unnoticed. They walked until they got deep into a forest before setting up a camp. Katoram made a fire and Calen provided earth shelters for each.

* * *

Ever since Nami went on the training mission that went bad, her loyalty had never been to the fire nation. Junsaku had noticed and ever since then, he had assigned her harder jobs. One was watching over a highly spirited earth-bending prisoner.

Now, he gave her a new assignment. Hunt and track down the two escaped prisoners. Nami was given strict instructions to report to him every day. He even informed her that he would keep an eye on the tracking device all prison guards had in their arms.

With her order, she left Junsaku's office, took the prisoners tracker and set out immediately. When Nami was a good few miles from the prison and Tokyo, she discarded the useless device for she knew exactly where she was going.

* * *

"Calen! Where are you?"

"Over here Nami!"

Nami followed the familiar voice to a small campsite.

"So I see your escape went well and you managed to get another out with you."

"Yes. Your plan worked perfectly; turning off the power at exactly midnight was brilliance. To bad we didn't foresee the ambush outside, but Katoram and I managed to get to the gate and I remembered the code you gave me. All according to plan and I see you were able to find me just fine."

"Of course. Now, I need to get rid of the tracker I have. I've been thinking and I believe the best way is to destroy it. I know you got rid of yours in the sewer, but I think that I personally need to disappear."

"I can cut it out then smash it." Katoram offered.

"That's just what I was thinking of doing." Nami unsheathed another knife from within her trench coat and handed it over to Katoram and held her arm out to her.

Katoram cautiously carved into the scar tissue and after a few minutes of work, produced Nami's tracker. Katoram put the tracking chip on a flat rock and grabbed a large stone. She raised it above her head and brought it crashing down. Bits of metal, plastic and wire flew out and into the surrounding grass.

"Done." She said triumphantly.

"Good. Now let's go." Calen said, growing slightly impatient.

"Where're we headed?" Katoram asked.

"We're headed toward my house so we can catch a plane to South Korea."

"Nami wrapped her bleeding arm in a handkerchief before jogging to catch up to Calen who was quickly striding off through the forest.

The three of them traveled in silence most of the way. It was around five o'clock before Nami broke the silence.

"I think we should set up camp."

"We have to keep going." Calen said determinedly.

"I just thought we could set up camp and get a descent meal. I've also got this." Nami pulled a bag from her trench coat and threw it to him. He opened it and Katoram rummaged through it. Inside the bag were a few sets of clean clothes for him and Katoram, a bar of soap and a couple thousand yen.

"Fine." He sighed.

They found a small clearing and Calen stomped, brought his hands up and together three times and they each had their own little shelters. The girls had been gathering wood and piling it in the middle of the shelters.

"We should split up and see if we can find something to eat before cleaning up. But stay within hearing distance in case we run into trouble." Nami instructed them before they all headed out in different directions.

"Something to eat, something to eat…" Calen muttered to himself as he walked around searching for something edible. "Something to eat, something to WOAH!" Calen had to jump back as something came flying down out of the tree at him. With a thud it struck the ground and was stuck sticking vertically out of the ground. On closer inspection Calen realized the object was an icicle.

"Hey! If it's a fight you want, come out here and I'll give you a fair fight!" he shouted up at the trees to the hidden enemy.

"Calen…?"

"Huh?" Calen stood there dumbstruck and he let his fists fall limply to his sides.

Someone dropped from the trees and landed on the ground in front of him on bended knee and hands. As the mystery person straightened Calen stared in disbelief.

"Tyshi…?"

"Calen!" Tyshi ran the few feet into Calen's arms. He was so overjoyed that he picked her up and spun her around a few times before setting her down.

"I can't believe… it's really you!"

"You're okay!" Tyshi stood on tiptoe to reach his face that she held in her hands and kissed him on the cheek over and over again. When she stopped, she stared into his dirt-encrusted face and he bent his head and cupped her chin delicately in his large powerful hands and gently kissed her on the forehead.

"Ah-hum."

Both turned and saw Katoram leaning against a tree with her arms folded and Nami standing next to her.

"I'm sorry. Did we interrupt something?" Katoram teased.

"Oh, guys! This is Tyshi, the reason we _were_ going to catch a plane. Tyshi, this is Nami and Katoram." Calen motioned to each.

"It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Nami said and shook her hand.

"So are you two both fire benders?"

"Is it that obvious?" Katoram smirked.

"I have an eye for things like that."

"Well we found some food, so we should probably go back to our camp." Nami said, changing the subject.

On their way back to camp, Tyshi and Calen talked intently about all that had happened since they had last seen each other. Back at the camp, Calen made another shelter, and Nami and Katoram shared the food they had found. When they had finished their nuts and berries, Katoram announced,

"Well, I'm tired of these nasty old clothes, think I'll go ahead and change. To bad I can't take a shower first. We've go the soap, but that's all… oh well."

"Wait. I think I know of a way for you to take that shower. Calen can build a little rock shower stall thing with a small opening at the bottom so the water can flow out. Nami can heat the water and I could bend it in through the top!" Tyshi said.

"Hey, that's pretty smart." Katoram admitted and Calen turned to her.

"You think everything is smart." Calen said seriously. Katoram was ready to defend herself by saying something back but couldn't think of anything to say. So she just stood there with her mouth open for a moment then closed it, defeated. Tyshi giggled and Nami rolled her eyes.

"So lets all take a quick shower before resting." Calen said and everyone nodded. He raised both hands, palms up and created a rectangular stall. Then he made a little sideswipe with one finger and there was an opening at the bottom for the water to run out.

"Hey Calen, before getting in, could you make a deep enough hole in the ground so I can gather ground water in one spot?"

"Sure, hold on a sec." He said with a smile and walked a few feet from the shower stall. He took a deep breath and punched his hand into the ground, making a hole that was deep enough to bury Tyshi in and wide enough for everyone to fit in it. Next it was Tyshi's turn. She took a deep breath and brought her hands up and ground water seeped through the rock and dirt to fill in the hole. "Now to clean it." Calen waved a hand across the surface and the muddy water soon became crystal clear. The hole was now a small pool of fresh water.

"Tyshi, it's Tyshi, right?" Nami asked and Tyshi nodded. "Okay. I want you to keep the water from evaporating as I heat it up. I just want you to keep the steam cool enough so it will solidify again."

Tyshi nodded and readied herself, Nami inhaled through her nose allowing the heat in her hands to grow and as she slowly exhaled, steam rose from her hands. "Be ready." Nami said to Tyshi who nodded as she dunked her hands into the cold water, allowing it to heat. At first, Tyshi had trouble getting a hang of it, but she soon adapted and caught most of the steam and cooled it by gently blowing on it. The evaporated steam turned back to water droplets and fell into the pool again.

"Hey Katoram, if the water's too hot, I can cool it."

"Actually, I think I'll let Calen go first so he can be the guinea pig who gets to test this out." She said and took a step back and motioned for him to go ahead. He shrugged and dipped his hand in the water to test the temperature.

"Nah, it's perfect. As a matter of fact, this might as well be my first hot shower in about three years. Isn't that right Nami?" he smiled and looked at Nami. She smiled back and took her hands out of the water and let the heat from her hands evaporate the water.

"Take your shower before the water gets cold again." She reprimanded him.

Calen didn't have to be told twice and he lowered one wall, got in and raised it again. Soon, dirty clothes were flying out of the stall as he was getting undressed. Then he called out to Tyshi, "Ready!"

"Okay." Tyshi called back and made a stream of warm water and directed it towards the shower. It was kind of hard because she had to drop the water blind, but she heard a satisfying splash.

"Nice aim!" Calen called out and Tyshi rolled her eyes as Calen continued his short shower. After he was done, Calen came out half clothed (he explained earlier that he made a little cubby thing inside where they could put their fresh clothes). He had long pants on and had the old shirt, serving as a towel around his neck and on his shoulders. Tyshi didn't look at first, but she soon noticed long scars and cuts on his back.

Tyshi reached out to touch his back, but Calen was quick and snatched her hand. "What happened?" she asked and Calen let go and put his shirt on.

"Just another part of my past." He said solemnly and walked back towards the main campsite. Tyshi soon came to realize that Calen was talking about his three-year captivity in the Tokyo jail for benders.

The girls took their showers and changed then joined Calen and ate some more small berries and nuts from the bushes around them. Nami was the first to finish and she took off her trench coat, wincing in slight pain. Katoram noticed but Calen spoke first.

"Is something wrong?"

Nami looked up as if surprised to see them all and set her coat on the ground next to her. "It's nothing. Just an old pain."

Calen wasn't convinced but he knew better than to pry into Nami's past. Tyshi was sitting next to her as they ate, but when she reached over for something that was when Tyshi caught a glimpse of a large scar from a burn on her bareback. Tyshi could tell it covered her whole back because she saw some more of the shining pink scar tissue on her lower back where her black tank top had crept up.

"Nami, if you don't mind me asking…" as Tyshi spoke, Nami tensed. "How did you get that burn on your back?"

Now everyone was staring at her as she sat there in a silent dread. Nami didn't speak but she did reach behind her back and finger her scar gently.

"I don't want to talk about it." She mumbled under her breath, but Tyshi didn't quite catch it.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Nami blinked and her expression changed from dread to anger. "I don't want to talk about it!" she shouted and hurled her plate into the fire, shattering it as she stood. She snatched her coat and put it on before quickly striding away. Tyshi blinked, shocked and looked at Calen and Katoram.

"What did I say?" she asked in a small voice and Katoram shrugged and Calen set down his plate.

"It wasn't what you said. You just brought up painful memories of her accident."

"What accident?"

Calen looked in the direction Nami had stormed off in, then back to Tyshi.

"I'm not sure if Nami would like me to tell you, but what happened back then destroyed her loyalty to the fire nation completely."

Not too far away, Nami sat in a tree listening to her story again.

"So what happened was that it was eight years ago when Nami was old enough to graduate from her military fire bending class. She was the youngest, but she _was_ the best out of the whole class. She mastered everything much faster then the older students; but when graduation came around, the emperor himself came down to see her." At this point in Calen's story, Nami walked back and Calen went silent and began eating as if nothing had happened. Tyshi on the other hand was curious and couldn't help but wonder what had happened next.

"When that ass came down to see me graduate he told me that I had to do one thing for him."

Everyone, even Katoram, was surprised that Nami was talking about her past, let alone her accident.

"Back then I was only loyal to my family and the emperor. You could imagine what I would have done to serve him in the front lines, and he took advantage of that. He created a mission just for me. He instructed me to kill my family."

Tyshi gasped, Calen's eyes narrowed in disgust and Katoram choked on her food. "That's messed up." Katoram said between coughs.

"I know, but it was the only way for me to get in the academy for the graduated benders."

"Did you do it? I mean kill your family Nami?" Tyshi asked frantically. As a response, Nami closed her eyes and shook her head.

"When I said I couldn't, he threatened to kill them himself."

Tyshi covered her mouth in horror, Katoram gaped and Calen turned away in repulsion.

"But… I still couldn't. He killed my dad in front of my eyes." Nami touched her back and sighed.

"What of your mother and brother?" Calen asked as he gazed nonchalantly into the flames. He had heard her speak of them before, but never knew of what had become of them.

"Long gone. They ran away somewhere to the northern part of Japan. But the emperor never knew that, though he still threatened to find them and kill them if I ever disobeyed again. That's when he left me this scar. The doctors said that the burn was so bad that it would either be lethal or that it wouldn't heal right. And guess what? It hasn't; it still burns even now."

"Wow… Nami I'm so sorry. I should never have asked." Tyshi said and she gave her a warm smile and slowly fingered her own burn.

"It's fine. I had to tell someone at one point or another. Might as well be now."

The others nodded in agreement.

The group finished eating in a serene silence before lying down to sleep. Calen slept next to Tyshi while Nami and Katoram slept across from them on the other side of the fire pit. And for the first time in a long while Calen could sleep well that night knowing Tyshi really was safe and sound.

* * *

Hey guys, it's Sarahplainntall again. Thank you SOOOOO much to Justthisguyyouknow for commenting. Just for you, I'm posting the next chapter. Remember: Comments=Me writing more and posting faster instead of doing homework! = ) Please write SOMETHING! I appreciate it and I hope this chapter wasn't too crappy/sappy etc.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Tyshi awoke the next morning to find only herself and Katoram in the camp. Katoram was still asleep so she decided to see if she could find the other two. A short distance away she could see their backs to her, whispering. A small and unreasonable pang of jealousy hit her.

'This is stupid.' She scolded herself. 'I'll just go over there and find out what they're talking about.' Tyshi walked up behind them.

"Good morning."

"Morning to you too." Nami said, turning to greet her. Calen did a half turn. "Mornin'." He said quickly before turning back to Nami and continued their intense conversation. The pang hit harder this time and hurt. She cleared her throat before joining them, forcing back the jealousy and hurt.

"So what are you guys talking about?"

"We're discussing how to get supplies." Nami said as she handed Calen a little black cell phone. Calen started punching buttons, intent on making this call; Tyshi realized there was nothing left to be said, so she sat down on a nearby log and waited to find out more.

"Azumo, it's Calen… yeah, it's been a long time…yeah, I'm fine… Look, I need a huge favor from you…Come on man. Please? Don't make me beg… Well, what if Tyshi begs? You remember her, the right? The pretty brunette?" Calen was teasing Azumo, but Tyshi couldn't help but blush a little. "It was a joke! Lighten up! Alright, I need you to go to South Korea and pick up some supplies from Katsu… Yeah, she was the older fire bender girl. Her and Haruki are going to have supplies ready for us… Yes I expect you to pick them up and bring them back to the usual spot… Yeah, I know. I am forever in your debt. Thanks Azumo… Bye." Calen hung up the phone with a grin.

"And that ladies, is how you get supplies" Calen stood and strutted back to the campsite. Nami turned to Tyshi.

"Is he usually that arrogant?"

"Sometimes."

"I've never seen his head that big before." Tyshi just forced a smile and went back to camp, Nami following her.

Nami and Tyshi found Calen standing over Katoram with a rock cup full of water. He quickly put a finger to his lips, and poured the contents on Katoram's sleeping head.

"I'll kill you… OW!" Katoram had sat up quickly, mumbling and half asleep and she had hit her head on the rock tent.

"Good morning sunshine." Calen sing-songed happily.

"You do realize I have to kill you now." She grumbled drowsily flopping back on the ground.

"Only if you can catch me! Come on you lazy bum! We gotta get going!" he sure was energetic today.

"What about breakfast?" she questioned as he hauled herself to her feet.

"We ate it all while you were sleeping."

"Why I oughtta…"

"Guys! Knock it off! Katoram, we're going to eat on the road. Now let's go." Nami spoke with such authority, that no one questioned her as she led the way.

Calen and Katoram fought, or Calen teased and annoyed while Katoram lashed out, on what Tyshi found to be the way to Calen's cabin. Nami kept the lead and tried to keep the peace and Tyshi followed in silence, absorbed by her thoughts.

After a couple close calls and a few hours, Calen finally noticed Tyshi in the back; he slowed and fell into step with her.

"Hi." He said cheerfully.

"Hi…" she said, barely audible, looking away from him. The smile left Calen's face and he stopped in front of her, blocking her path and starring at her, but she wouldn't meet his gaze. Tyshi made to step around him and continue following Nami and Katoram who had kept walking, but he intercepted her and put both his heavy hands on her slender shoulders.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing…" she still wouldn't look at him so he brought her face to his with one hand. He stared into her big blue eyes and finally she looked into his green ones.

"Something's bothering you. I know you too well. Please, tell me…" his pleading voice was as soft and gentle as his gaze and touch across her cheeks. She had to look away again.

"It's nothing."

Calen sighed and let her go. He knew something was wrong, but she wouldn't tell him… yet. Like he said, he knew her too well. He'd just walk with her and try to get her to talk about other things. She'd probably come around and confide in him later. Especially if they finally got to talk one on one with each other.

"So… um…oh! After uh…" he cleared his throat. He knew he was bumbling pretty badly. "Did you go back to South Korea?"

"Uh-huh." She still wouldn't look at him. Obviously Calen had done something to upset her, but what?

"So, how's Mickiko? She master the water whip yet?"

"She's good, and yeah, she's gotten a lot better."

"Tomasu, how's he?"

"He's either shy or shows off around me and Michiko. Cute kid. He's thirteen now."

"Sounds like he likes girls now too." He teased, smiling widely. Tyshi just ignored him and his grin faded again.

"Hey Calen! Come here a minute." Nami called to him. He figured he wasn't making much progress, so he jogged up to the front where Nami was leading. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tyshi frown and look off to the side as he went to join Nami.

'Ah-ha! She's mad because… I've been ignoring her…" The excitement of his discovery was short lived as he was overcome with self-loathing.

"Earth to Calen…?"

He looked up startled to see Nami there, talking to him.

"As I was saying… The GPS on m phone's not working because the battery's too low. Where now?" They were close enough that Calen recognized the land and was able to guide them the rest of the way to the old cabin.

"Nice, but a little small. Not enough rooms." Katoram complained as she explored the inside.

"Oh, no problem. I can fix that." Calen left the room and made his way outside. He backed up a few yards, took a deep breath and lifted both hands up above his head in front of him. This raised a large wall in front of him. Then he spread his hands and raised both in unison, creating identical walls connecting the room to the house. He then raised a platform under himself and was lifted to the top of the wall. He looked down at the ground within the walls and raised both hands once more. Calen now had made a large additional room, complete with roof. After inspecting his handiwork, he made his way to the platform then the ground. Inside, he made a doorway in the connecting wall that led to the new room.

"Katoram, Nami, this will be your room. I can move the couch in here, it's a pull out bed that one of you can have and the other can have some sleeping bags piled on top of each other."

"Dibs on the bed!" Katoram yelled and ran to the couch and jumped on it for emphasis. "Sorry Nami, better luck next time." She added.

"It's fine, I don't mind the sleeping bags."

Tyshi was standing off to the side in the kitchen. The couch in the living room had been where she had stayed last time. Where was she going to stay this time? Calen saw her disgruntled look and walked over to her. Calen took her hand in his and led her down the hall. He opened the door to his room and pulled her inside and shut the door.

"This will be your room."

"But…" He held up a hand to stop her.

"You didn't think I'd make you sleep on the floor, did you? No, the floor's reserved for jerks who ignore their best friends." Calen let the room before Tyshi could say anything.

So he had figured out half the reason for her ignoring him, but when he said it like that, she felt guilty for being mad. Calen came back and he looked happy. He sure had some weird mood swings.

"Ha! You should see it! Nami and Katoram are moving that couch on their own, it's pretty funny to watch."

Tyshi smiled a little and Calen sat her on the bed, took the chair from the desk in the room and brought it over in front of Tyshi. Calen pressed something cold and metal in her hand before sitting before her.

"I don't much care for this long hair. Think you can get it back to the way it was?"

"I can try…" she said, raising the scissors, but he jumped out of the chair and looked at her.

"Don't try, do. Screw this up, and you are forever banned from cutting my hair ever again." He looked so serious, she couldn't help but laugh.

"Just shut up and let me do it."

"Yes ma'am." He saluted her and sat down. Both of them burst out laughing. Tyshi stood and placed a hand on his back for a minute and Calen made a quick, pained noise.

"Oh! I'm so sorry Cal! I forgot about your back!"

"No, really, it's fine."

"You know… in my years of training, I learned to heal. Maybe I could do something to help the pain you're feeling."

"If you want to try." He smiled warmly at her.

"Ok, hold on, looks like you're hair cut will have to take a break."

"Sure." Calen remained in his chair and Tyshi left the room and went to the kitchen to retrieve a bowl of water and brought it back to the bedroom.

"Cross your fingers. I don't know how well this will work on an already healed wound." Calen pulled off his shirt and revealed a tangled web of pink scar tissue that interlaced all across his strong back. She winced at the sight, but continued on with her work. Tyshi summoned the water into the palm of her hand, where it began to spin in a circle and glow an eerie blue. She pressed the glowing water to his scarred back. The light grew brighter and then the water was absorbed into his skin. The scars weren't as obvious as they had been, but she was more concerned if the underlying damage had been fixed.

"How does that feel?" she asked worriedly. Calen twisted from side to side and leaned backward, testing his back and his eyes widened.

"Better. Wow, that's… that's amazing. You're amazing." Calen gushed while Tyshi blushed.

"I'm just glad it worked. I was afraid it wasn't going to." She said, and her eyes tightened sadly as she traced the multiple lines on his back.

Calen smiled at her as he slid his shirt back on and then there was a slight awkward silence that consisted of the snip of the scissors as she went back to cutting his hair. When she was almost done, she broke the silence.

"So…" Tyshi started cautiously. "How…? What…?"

"Three wonderful years with the ruthless fire nation." He said bitterly. "There were daily beatings. That's how I got all those scars." Tyshi gasped and dropped the scissors. Calen continued hastily in a lighter tone. "But Nami was assigned to be my guard. We got around to being friends and she made my life more bearable."

All of Tyshis remaining anger and jealousy floated away from her at these words.

'Friends. Of Course, how silly of me…'

"Her… and the thought of returning to you made life a lot more bearable." Calen was standing over her, the familiar warm smile on his lips.

"Oh Calen…" Tyshi flung her arms around her friend and tried to suppress the tears and pain of three years as they welled to the surface. Calen sat down on the bed and pulled her onto his lap and held her close. All the uncertainties of her life and insecurities of his melted away as they held each other close. The gentle beat of his heart soothed her soul as her sobs ebbed. She soon drifted off to sleep in his warm embrace.

'I'd face a hundred years in the hellish prison if this could last forever.' Calen thought to himself as he held her sleeping form.

He brushed a strand of hair away from her face, completely mesmerized as she slept. Calen knew not how long Tyshi had slept or how long he had held her before he heard a crash from the kitchen. Reluctantly, he laid her down on the bed and watched her a moment longer before investigating what had happened.

Katoram was picking cans off the kitchen floor as Calen came to see what the noise was.

"Sorry. I was hungry gain and when I opened the cabinet and all these cans crashed. Lucky I didn't get hit in the head by one." She smiled.

"Yeah, wouldn't want to damage that 'genius' brain of yours." He said sarcastically.

"Hey you… did you get a haircut?" his change in appearance had thrown her off and she had forgotten she was mad and about to say something.

"Tyshi cut it." He said as he examined his reflection in the toaster. It looked the way it used to.

"By the way, where is Tyshi?"

"Sleeping in her room."

"Not surprised. It's 9:15 PM. I think I'll just grab something to eat and head off to bed myself."

"So you guys finally get the couch in there?"

"Took us awhile, but we finally got it."

"Good. Nami asleep?"

"Think so."

"Okay Night then."

"Night."

Calen went back to Tyshi's room. She was still asleep on the bed, so he walked over and carefully removed her shoes. Then he pulled the blanket up. As he turned to leave, he felt something catch his hand.

"Stay for a while." Tyshi mumbled, her eyes were still closed, but she held tight to his hand.

"For a while." He agreed and settled himself in the chair next to the bed.

* * *

The next morning, Calen found that he had fallen asleep in Tyshi's room. He quietly moved the chair back to the desk and picked up the scissors and threw away the hair clippings before leaving and closing the door behind him silently.

Calen thought of making breakfast for everyone, but all that was in the fridge was green, furry foods that couldn't be distinguished. In the cabinets he found expired cans and boxes of food.

"Man…"

Needless to say everything went into the overflowing trash can. His stomach growled and he clutched his starving gut.

"Azumo better hurry with those supplies." He muttered to himself.

As if on cue, the distant rumble of a plane engine came from the East. Calen walked outside to intercept it when it landed He could see the dark speck outlined by the rising sun slowly growing and getting louder. When the plane neared its landing destination, the three bedraggled girls ran outside.

"Supplies?" Tyshi asked through a yawn.

"Yup. He'll land right over there." Calen pointed through the dense section of trees and sure enough, that's where the plane touched down. When the engine died, they made their way over. Azumo stepped out and waved, Tyshi waved back and ran over.

"Hey Tyshi. You look good." He smiled at her.

"Hi Azumo, thanks." She said shyly. "Looks like you made it through all right."

"Yeah, looks like you and Calen did the same." He appraised Nami and Katoram. "And by the looks of it you got a few others." Before she could reply, Calen walked up and put an arm around her shoulder.

"Took you long enough."

"So that's the thanks I get, huh? Maybe I should just take it back." They both looked so serious that the girls started to worry. When things were starting to look bad, the two guys broke into stupid grins and did a special little hand shake.

"Good to see you again Calen."

"Same. It's been a long time."

"Well, let's unload those supplies." Azumo led the way to the cargo and both the guys carried in the large crate.

"Would you like something to drink?" Tyshi offered.

"I've got a tight schedule, but I think I can make time for a drink."

Tyshi poured some tap water into a glass and blew on it to make it icy cool, then handed it to Azumo.

"Thanks." He brought the glass to his lips and downed it in one swig. "Well, I'd better get going. Just give me a call if you need anything. Until next time." He gave a small wave before leaving and soon after, they heard the plane engine start up and fade off into the distance.

"Let's see what goodies your friends gave us." Nami said as she pried off the lid.

Inside was a large variety of food rations, all of which could be transported easily. There were some other necessities in the crate, such as toilet paper, soap and many other little things like that.

"Not bad. Now we can eat, but we're stuck with these clothes and those old rags." Katoram complained, pulling at her shirt.

"Not necessarily." Tyshi said. "Follow me." Nami and Katoram followed Tyshi to a trunk in the corner of the living room.

"They may not fit, but they're better than nothing." Inside the trunk were a ton of shirts, shorts, jeans, jackets, socks and other clothes. Tyshi reached in and pulled out a pair of jeans and a light blue tank top. Katoram withdrew some jeans and a red t-shirt. Nami took black jeans and a black wife beater. Both Nami and Katoram went to their room to change and Tyshi went to hers. The door was shut, but she didn't remember shutting it, she twisted the knob and opened it.

"Oh! Sorry! I didn't…" she raised a hand to shield her eyes and conceal her blush. She had walked in on Calen as he was changing. He had been standing with a pair of jeans in his hands and only wearing green plaid boxers. Tyshi backed away from the door, pulling it closed and leaned against the wall. A minute later, Calen came out; pulling a dark green shirt down over his well toned chest and six-pack abs. Embarrassed, Tyshi averted her gaze again.

"Sorry... I, I didn't know you were changing. I mean, I know you're clothes are in there, but I forgot and…" she was getting flustered.

"Oh, yeah, that's okay… At least I had boxers on…" He trailed off and blushed lightly. "I mean I guess its better you walk in on me than me walk in on you." The faint blush touched his cheeks again. Tyshi started laughing and that lightened the mood and Calen laughed too.

"Well, go ahead and change. The coast should be clear."

"You're so weird." Tyshi said, rolling her eyes.

"And sexy." He added with a grin.

"Sure…" She said sarcastically. "Keep telling yourself that." Calen's response to that was to tickle her sides. Tyshi tried to bat away his hands while laughing, but that didn't work so she tried to evade him. Calen countered that move by backing her into a wall and tickling her some more.

"S-Stop…! N-N-Not f-f-fair!" She screamed between laughs and gasping for breath.

"Take it back. Admit that I'm sexy." He lightened up on the tickling so she could talk and breath and when she made a move to escape, he pressed his body up against hers, pinning her to the wall.

"In your dreams." She retorted and pushed off the wall, but he caught her and started tickling her mercilessly.

"Come on. I _know_ you're _dying_ to say it. Come one. Calen's sexy." He coached her. As an afterthought he added, "In boxers. If you say Calen's sexy in boxers, I'll let you go in peace and change." Tyshi tried to squirm past him, but she ended up losing her balance and tipping over backwards.

"Honestly, your balance is so bad." Calen said smugly as he caught her with one arm around the waist. He pressed her body tightly against his own to prevent her trying to escape again. "Now be a good girl and say it." He raised his free hand and wiggled his fingers threateningly.

"Fine." Tyshi sighed dramatically. "Calenssexyinboxers." She said quickly, rushing the words together in a long string.

"There, see? That wasn't so bad." Calen grinned in satisfaction.

"I think I have to wash my mouth out." Tyshi teased as she ran into her room and slammed the door before Calen could do anything.

Just then, Nami called out. "Hey Calen! Come check this out!" She called from the living room.

"Coming!" Calen turned and headed over to where Nami and Katoram were sitting on some of the kitchen chairs watching the news. "What?" Nami pointed to the TV and turned up the volume.

"…After the recent jail break in Tokyo, the Emperor has taken special measures to hold the prisoners in different locations as the fire troops still search for two escaped fugitives on the run." Calen could feel the blood drain from his face. "If anyone has any information on the prisoners, please contact the police immediately."

"Hey Nami… do you have any idea of where the other prisoners are being held?"

Nami sighed and began to think. "The first that comes to mind is the third biggest fire nation prison. It's located only, like, ten miles from here. Why?"

"Get ready, we're going to prison."

Nami jumped off her chair. "What? Why?"

"If you're right about the prison, we need to help them."

"But why? I mean I know that they helped me and Calen escape, but why risk getting caught again?" Katoram asked.

Nami turned to Katoram. "Because they risked their lives to help. If you don't like it, then leave."

"Nami! What are you saying?" Tyshi nearly shouted, rejoining the group in the living room.

"We need everyone in this room to help. This means you-Nami, and Katoram. We need to help the people who helped you." Tyshi glanced around to the other three.

"Fine. But after this, I'm gone." Katoram said.

Tyshi grinned. She knew that if Katoram left, she would get caught again or possibly killed and Tyshi knew that Katoram knew. Instead of arguing though, Tyshi just nodded.

"So…" Calen said after a moment of uncomfortable silence. "When do we leave?"

"Now…" Katoram sighed and head into the kitchen.

"Nami, what do we need?" Calen asked. Nami stood and dug through the crate and found some backpacks. She threw a black one to Calen.

"Aw… I wanted the pink one." Calen joked. Nami reached into the crate once more and pulled out a pink colored backpack.

"Here you go." She threw it to Calen.

"I was kidding!"

"Too bad. You're the one who asked for it."

Calen still didn't like it, but he put it on anyways. Tyshi giggled as Nami handed her a dark blue pack.

"Pink looks good on you."

"Really? I always thought it made my butt look big." Calen said teasingly as he turned to check out his butt. Nami shook her head while Tyshi tried to hold back giggles and Katoram burst out laughing. "Anyways, besides talking about my big butt, we need to be prepared and bring extra stuff so we don't have to come back here in case we're followed."

Tyshi seemed somewhat surprised. "And when did you decide this?"

Calen took off the pink pack and handed it back to Nami. "Last night."

"And it took you that long to figure it out?"

"Hey…hey…hey…"

"What?" She looked at him smugly.

"That's not nice." He said pouting. Tyshi stuck her tongue out at him as he poked her in the side making her squirm.

"Focus guys!" Pack your packs and let's go."

Calen sighed and looked into the crate. The general packing took about a half hour. All the food was packed, each person had about three changes of clothes and most all of the miscellaneous items.

"Ok, before we get lost, Nami, do you know where the camp is?" Calen asked.

"Not really, but every troop is told the general area of each prison. So I know the general direction we're supposed to go, but once we get close enough, I'm sure we can find it."

"Ok, where do you think the camp is Nami?" Tyshi asked.

"Well, let's think about it. I know it's about ten miles from here, but they're going to want it at least partly concealed, but they'll need room for all the prisoners and for the guards bending, so they'll most likely be underground. So we'll be looking or a heavy part of the forest with an opening in the middle and start there."

Tyshi and Calen nodded, but Katoram groaned. They both looked over, confuse.

"I have a feeling that we're going to be walking for a while." Katoram moaned.

"Yeah, but at least I think I know where we're going. There's a cliff to the East of here and the valley is filled with trees.

"Good, so what are we waiting for? Let's go then." Nami said, lifting her heavy, bulging backpack and everyone followed suit.

Calen led the way to the cliffs. They hiked through the valleys, trekked through forests and Calen led them over rivers. They had been walking for hours until Calen stopped for a moment. Both Tyshi and Katoram collapsed on the ground in a heap, exhausted and Nami flopped down on a log and cracked open a water bottle and drank the whole thing. Calen stood next to Tyshi who was sprawled out across the ground.

"How much further?" Katoram whined spread out on her stomach.

"Yeah, it feels like we've been walking for the whole day." Tyshi piped up, rolling her head lazily towards Calen standing over her.

"Maybe because we have been." Nami said and she tossed another water bottle to Tyshi who took it gratefully and drained it quickly.

"Well, if I'm right, the prison should be right about…" Calen walked over to a wall of branches and leaves and pushed them aside. Nami turned to watch him, Katoram craned her neck to follow Calen's movements and Tyshi rolled onto her stomach and propped herself up on her elbows. "…here." Just beyond the trees there was a large camp.

"That's it! That's one of the camps!" Nami exclaimed, excited.

"Uh… yeah, how do we get inside the camp?" Katoram asked standing and taking yet another water bottle from Nami.  
"I say distraction…" Calen glanced over at Katoram and she glared at him.

"Or… tunneling. The camp isn't covered in steel or iron like the prison in Tokyo." Nami suggested.

Calen seemed surprised that this camp wasn't nearly as protective as the one he had been held captive in. "So I can bend under the prison camp?" Nami nodded. "How come?"

"So other nations can't find can't find them that easily with metal detectors. So basically it's a cloaking technique to hide certain benders. It gets a little tricky with earth benders though, their cells and surroundings have to be 100% wood. So usually in a camp like this, it'll probably be predominately water and fire benders."

"Nami, how big do you think the camp is?" Calen questioned.

"Judging by the area it's in, the camp might only be a mile long."

Tyshi nodded and stood next to Calen, lightly brushing up against him with her close proximity. "I think we should split up and meet back here in two hours. We must help as many captives as possible… we'll need all the help we can get." Everyone nodded, but Calen looked down at her soft featured face. He was in agreement with what she said, but he couldn't help worry about her if they were to split up completely. I mean, Tyshi was… well, Tyshi was Tyshi and he worried about her, even though he kept trying to convince himself that she was plenty capable of something like this. Nami was coming up with a game plan, so he focused his attention on her, and tried to put his worries about Tyshi out of his mind.

"Calen, you take the east side, near the cliff. Katoram you go north and knock out as many guards as you can so we can have a clear exit later. Tyshi, take the west, can you bend water?"

Tyshi shrugged. "The weather isn't cold enough to snow or warm enough to rain. So, no." Calen flinched internally at this statement. "I think I know a way to get some though. I just have nothing to hold it in."

"Um, ok, here, take these two canteens and fill them up. Then I'll take the southern part as look out. I'll shoot one spark into the sky as a warning to hurry up. Two for hide and three means run." Calen nodded same as Katoram. But Tyshi was nervous, almost too nervous to respond, but she nodded as well. "Right. We leave in 20 minutes. Make your preparations." With this, Nami took her pack, took out something to snack on and propped up her pack on the log and laid down, eating.

Tyshi took a few deep breaths to calm herself and walked a little deeper in to the woods. Calen followed her.

"Whatcha doin?" he asked her and she jumped, startled.

"Oh, you scared me. I was just getting some water."

"How?"

"Watch." Tyshi took another deep breath and rose her arms and swirled them around her body. Calen watched in awe as the plants in a seven foot radius dried up and their moisture was sucked into a swirl around Tyshi's body and she funneled the water into her two canteens.

"Wow, I never thought of that before. That was amazing." Calen appraised her.

"Thanks." She said, averting her gaze. Her stomach churning uneasily

"Hey Ty, you ok? You look sick." Calen said with a worried tone.

"I don't know…"

"What do you mean?" Calen lifted her chin and looked into Tyshis eyes.

"My body is shaking as if it's 30 degrees out, but I'm really warm to the touch." Calen started to worry even more.

"You're just nervous."

"How can you tell?" She asked a bit sarcastically.

Calen sighed and gave a quick laugh. He began to sit as a stone stool shot up and caught him lightly. "Remember when we were little and you broke the TV by getting it wet on accident and started freaking out, trying to dry it and fix it but it was no use, and then you tried to make up a lie to tell your mom and then decided to tell the truth? You were so nervous you threw up, and you were shaking, like now, but everything turned out alright, didn't it? Well I guarantee, no, I _promise_ you everything will turn out alright. So what I'm saying is that even if you are nervous or scared, stand up to your fear, solve the problem one step at a time and then you've got it."

"Wow, that was kind of a long speech." She said trying to joke. "So what you're saying is that it takes courage and a steady mind to overcome obstacles like this?" Calen nodded. Tyshi pondered about that for a second and took a deep breath. "Thanks Calen." He smiled at her and kissed her forehead.

The 20 minutes passed by slowly, no one could sit still, waiting anxiously for the attack on the camp. Even Nami became impatient. When the timer finally hit the 20 minute mark, Nami stood up. Calen knew that it was time to start so he gathered all of their stuff and placed it in a rock hole and covered it up with a stone slab. Then he walked into the middle of the camp trying to find soft enough soil to make an entrance for the tunnel. When he finally found it, he took a quick breath then slammed both hands into the ground. The little clearing where they were gathered shook as the hole got deeper. The rumbling stopped as Calen came back to the surface.

"Nami, I don't know about this. The soil is soft enough to tunnel through, but you saw what happened. It's only going to get worse when I hit solid rock."

Nami sighed and pondered for a moment. "Try digging deeper. See if the vibrations soften."

Calen shrugged and jumped back into his hole and continued digging. After a few minutes passed, the vibrations finally quit. Tyshi leaned over the edge of the hole and yelled down into the dark. "Calen! It stopped!" A low rumble slowly grew louder and louder until Calen popped out of the hole on a stone platform.

"Finally! It was getting dark down there." He muttered. The three girls joined him on the platform and it started to lower itself back into the deep, dark hole. As they neared the bottom, they were enveloped in pitch black darkness. Someone snapped their fingers and a flame appeared on Katoram's thumb.

"Calen, how fast can you tunnel?" Nami asked.

Calen pressed his hands against the rock. "I say it should only take a few minutes at the most. Once I start tunneling up though, I don't think I can stop the vibrations without slowing down."

"…Just go as fast as you can." Nami said reluctantly.

Calen took a step towards the wall and thrust both arms up against the rock, angling it to a soft incline.

"So, did you make the tunnel long enough?" Tyshi asked, peering around Calen to stare down the long tunnel.

"I think so…"

"You think so? Why do you say that?"

Calen rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "I think I made the tunnel too long. The soil beyond the rock was softer than I expected. It caught me by surprise."

Nami passed Calen and lit her hand. "Let's go. We don't have much time." Everyone fell silent and followed closely. Calen rubbed Tyshi's shoulder reassuringly and they exchanged a quick smile. It wasn't long before Nami ran into a dead end. Calen reached above his head and pushed upward on the ceiling. Another hole formed and Calen brought everyone back to the surface with yet another platform.

"Where are we?" Katoram asked, quickly taking in her surroundings. The new tunnel had led to the inside of a strange and cramped building. Calen put a cautionary finger to his lips as the light flickered through a window and he motioned for everyone to crouch low to the ground. When the shadow had passed, they began to explore the small building they were hiding in. Guns of all shape and caliber hung from the walls and trunks were filled with ammunition. All manner of weapons were stored in the small, dark room.

"I think we're in the armory. Look for something useful and dispose of everything else down the hole. We don't want to give them any kind of advantage." Nami ordered and everyone spread out and dug through the room.

"Hey, look at this." Katoram pulled out two fire nation uniforms from the closet she was rummaging through.

"We can use those to sneak around easier." Nami said excitedly, taking one of the uniforms from Katoram.

"But there are only two here and there are four of us in case you haven't noticed." Calen said a little frustrated.

"I know, but you wouldn't be able to pass as a fire bender anyways. Your eyes and your general disposition are just off. You too Tyshi, no offense, of course."

"That's okay, you and Katoram wear them. I'll just sneak around." Tyshi said. Katoram and Nami quickly dressed in their stolen uniforms. Katoram opened the door slowly, and then headed off to her designated position.

"Ok, when you hear two taps on the door, the coast should be clear so head to your post quickly." Tyshi and Calen nodded and shrank low into the shadows as Nami slipped out the door. They waited in a long, uncomfortable silence.

"Calen… what exactly happened during those three years of being a captive?" Tyshi whispered, cautiously watching his face.

"…Each day they had this routine. Talk to me, see if I would tell them about the other benders in South Korea. Every time I said no, they'd beat me and burn me" Tyshi shivered at the brutality he had faced over the years. The horrible pain he was put through every day; she could relate to the burns. "You'd think they'd give up on beating me after a year and a half, but of course, they didn't. Determined bastards… Soon after though they started starving me." Calen had such a dark look that seemed so out of place on his usually light and gentle face.

"I'm sorry…"

"For what? You didn't do anything to hurt me." His face softened a little.

"Yes I did… you were only captured because of me." Tyshi could feel the moisture pooling in her eyes. "Three years of pain and scars because of me. Because I couldn't control my anger and I got us into that stupid fight…" Tyshi could feel the tears spill over. Calen whipped away her tears and left his hand on her cheek for comfort.

"Hey… it's because of you I'm here right now. You were the reason for me to be alive right now. You kept me going through the tough times." Tyshi's face was cold as more tears fell onto his hand still on her cheek. Calen pulled away and reached into his shirt and withdrew a chain that held a small silver ring with a diamond in the middle.

"You still have that? But how?"

"Nami gave it back to me. You were a part of me for those three years." Tyshi could feel a new wave of fresh tears coming on when she heard two quick taps on the door. She looked over to Calen who was looking at the door. Tyshi hastily dried her tears, darted out the door and hurried across the camp to her post. Her surroundings were much darker then she had originally thought. Tyshi had made it to another building before suddenly stopping in her tracks. Only a few feet from her stood an unfamiliar fire nation soldier. Tyshi nearly screamed, but caught her breath and ducked around to hide behind the corner of the building. After the man walked past, she exhaled in relief. Nami caught her eye, watching rigidly nearby; Tyshi gave her a quick thumbs up then slipped into the building.

"Hey you!"

Tyshi froze just inside the doorway, terrified. The man walked past Tyshi's hiding place and up to a wide eyed Nami who quickly composed herself. "Yes sir?" Nami noticed the badge on his chest declaring him the captain.

"You new?"

"Yes sir, just arrived."

"Good. Check up by the gate and see if the general needs anything. I've got things covered here." Nami nodded and head to the gate. The man rubbed the back of his neck and muttered to himself. "Man, these recruits just keep getting younger and younger."

Calen snuck up on the man and cracked him across the back of the head with a stone pole. He crumpled in a heap on the ground. Tyshi gasped.

"Did you have to hit him so hard? We don't need any more trouble." She hissed.

"I didn't kill him in case you were wondering." He murmured back.

"Get going!" Tyshi whispered urgently and quickly disappeared into the room, shutting the door.

"You're welcome…" Calen muttered as he started dragging the man out of sight.

Tyshi discovered she was in an empty locker room. "Damn it." She muttered to herself. She locked the front door and scrambled out a window and landed in a large puddle of water.

"What the…?" Tyshi looked around and discovered an old hand pump fountain. "Water!" Tyshi reached into the puddle and gently blew on her hand, making the water freeze. With a good yank, she withdrew a long ice sword. With her free hand, she raised her arm and then brought her hand into a fist. Water spurted up from the pump and the size and depth of the puddle quickly grew.

"What's with the water?" Tyshi lowered herself to the ground and pressed tightly against the wall.

"Well, why don't you find out?" Another voice replied. Ripples soon appeared as a young fire troop trudged through the water towards the broken pipe. Tyshi watched from the wall as she waited for him to turn around. The man was in his early 20's, blonde hair and blue eyes, he looked out of sorts here in Japan; he had probably transferred here from another country. The man examined the pipe, shrugged and pulled a rag from his pocket and shoved it into the dripping opening.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you…" The man jumped in surprise as Tyshi appeared behind him. The man didn't have time to react as Tyshi kicked him down face first in the water and froze him there.

"Nijito!" Tyshi spun around to see another man, a bit older than the first, come charging towards her. The second man pulled out his gun, but Tyshi shot a wave of water at him, making him drop his gun. Another wave smashed into him with such impact that it sent the man flying into a wall with a bone breaking crash. Tyshi froze him in place as she moved towards him.

"Now, you tell me where you keep the other prisoners."

"Yeah, right, like I'm gonna do that."

Tyshi shrugged and sighed. "Suit yourself. Guess I'll just have to force it out of you." She grabbed the man with her free hand around the neck and pressed the sharp point of the ice sword to his cheek, causing a small line of blood to run down the man's face.

"You don't have the guts girl."

Tyshi squeezed his neck tighter and pressed harder and more blood trickled down his face. "Try me." She whispered darkly.

* * *

Calen hurried around a building, dragging the limp captain into an alley way. 'Why is this guy so freaking heavy?!' Calen thought to himself as he dropped the captain to catch his breath. Calen heard a door open and close not far from where he had dropped the unconscious captain. Panicking, Calen quickly made a rectangle hole and dropped the captain in and covered it with a thin layer of stone to hide him there. Calen could hear someone headed his way and quickly dove through an open window to an abandoned looking building.

The man rounded the corner to the alleyway humming to himself quietly. Calen peeked through the window and noticed that the man wasn't a fire nation soldier. Calen waved his had a little and made the ground underneath the man collapse. Calen could hear him groaning as he inched closer, poised and ready for anything.

"What the…?" The man muttered dazed and confused as he picked himself up off the unconscious captain he had landed on.

"What are you doing in this camp?" Calen demanded, staying just out of view of the strange man stuck in the deep hole that blocked his view.

"Where are you?"

"That is the least of your worries. Now, answer the question."

"Or what?" The man asked defiantly. There was a low rumble and he was suddenly swathed in the shadow of a large boulder hovering over his head. He swallowed hard and fought to control his voice. "So… what would you like to know?"

"Why are you here? You're not a soldier." Calen's voice dripped with dangerous authority.

"I'm a care taker of the prisoners and the soldier's horses." The man answered feebly.

"Where are the captives held?"

"Below the building there's a hall that'll lead you down to the cells. Here in the middle of the complex the earth benders and other captives are held in metal cells."

"You mean there are regular people here too?"  
"Well, yeah. This camp used to be for normal people who opposed the rule of our mighty emperor. Ever since that jail break in Tokyo though, we've been forced to take charge of benders too. We put the normal people with the earth and water benders."

"Is there anything else I should know about this camp? Guards, security, trip alarms?" The man didn't answer. Calen sighed and lowered the boulder closer to the man.

"Wait! Wait! I'll talk! I'll talk!"

"Good boy… now spill!" The terrifying threatening tone was back in his voice.

"Ok… there are two guards once you open the door there should be at least three or four men on the way down to the cells. Once you get down there, there should only be one guard left, but he'll have access to an alarm that'll ring throughout the camp.

"Wow… thanks. Now, stay." Calen resealed the opening with a thin layer of rock and dirt, easy enough to through, but not for a while and as to not allow too much sound through. They should have plenty of air for at least a few hours he reasoned and quickly took off for the building the man had described.

Calen slowly approached the door and noticed it had an automatic lock on it. He cursed under his breath and paced away from the door. He then started hurling some fair sized rocks at the door and it soon opened and two soldiers came out, both wielding hand guns at the ready. Calen quickly raised walls to form a box around the armed men, trapping them amply. Without any time to spare, for the wall and therefore he would soon be discovered, he sprinted down the hall with stone poles in his hands at the ready. As he rounded a corner, he nearly ran into a soldier. Caught off guard, he fumbled at his holster for his gun, but Calen was faster. He smashed the poles into his left knee and into his right side, the man collapsed onto his hands and knees when Calen landed a hard kick to the man's face, knocking him out cold. Calen could hear people heading his way, remembering that there were more people to be dealt with. He gripped the poles tighter and sprinted headlong down the hall to meet them.

* * *

Tyshi could hear the blood pulsing through her ears as she slowly caught her breath. She lost count of how many guards she had run into. Her body was exhausted, but she remained mentally prepared for anything exploring the building the fire nation soldier had directed her to.

Tyshi tensed as she heard someone else heading her way. Tyshi looked around the cramped hallway to find a place to hide. There weren't any good places to hide and running wasn't going to work either. She had to fight, no matter how much that didn't appeal to her and her tired body.

She quickly formed a thick ice sword from the water in her canteen and headed towards the sound of footsteps. Tyshi stopped as the steps slowed. She knew that whoever was around the corner, knew that she was there. Tyshi raised the sword above her head and rounded the corner. She brought the sword down swiftly, only to be blocked with a different sword. Tyshi quickly melted the water and whipped it around the man's body and froze him in place.

"Ah! That's cold!"

Tyshi finally noticed that the man wasn't from the fire nation, but water. He was in his early twenties, about 6'1" and had jet black hair gelled into spikes and his blue/green eyes went well with his baggy jeans and dark blue t-shirt.

"Who are you? You're not fire nation."

"Of course not! Why would I join _them_." The boy struggled against her icy hold.

"Wait… you're from the coast!" He stopped struggling as his eyes widened in surprise.

"What gave you that impression?" Tyshi said, somewhat sarcastically.

"Well, you water bend."

"Uh… that was called sarcasm."

The man blushed slightly. "So… what's your name?" He smiled at her sincerely.

Tyshi hesitated for a moment. "Tyshi…"

"I'm Tomo."

"Nice to meet you Tomo."

"I'd say the same, that is, if you let me go." He smiled sheepishly and looked down at the ice holding him still.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Tyshi melted the water and returned it to her canteen.

"So, why are you here?"

"To free the prisoners here."

"Really? Same here. We can both do it… you know… together?" Tomo's voice cracked a little on the last word and he hastily cleared his throat.

"Sure, why not?" Tyshi giggled. "I can use all the help I can get." She said and motioned towards the sword still in his hand. Tomo grinned widely and she returned a shy smile.

"I'll go first, ya know, just in case." He winked at her and held his sword at the ready and Tyshi followed close behind. "So what exactly brought you here? I mean, no offense, but you don't exactly seem like the type of girl who would just jump into a dangerous situation like this. You must have some reason to be here."

"Well, my friend was captured by the fire nation three years ago. Just recently he was able to escape from Tokyo."

"You mean that was him?! Wow." Tyshi nodded and shushed him, smiling proudly.

"Yes, he and two others were able to escape. I'm traveling with them now."

"So, why did you guys decide to come here?"

"Well, we heard that there was a camp here that held some of the captives from the jail break. We decided to help them escape since they helped my friends." Tomo halted and Tyshi slowed to a stop behind him. She gently placed a hand on his back and peeked around the corner. She found the coast to be clear, so she turned to him. "So, why are you here Tomo?"

"For about the same reason, except my friends and I go around Japan to help anyone we can."

"Wow that sounds hard."  
"Well, if you consider saving someone hard, then yes." He raised his eyebrow and smiled smugly.

"Alright, then what's the hard part?" They slowed as they approached a large steel door.

"Surviving." Tomo opened the door for Tyshi who smiled and went through, cautiously looking around. Tyshi started walking towards another door on the right, when she heard something behind her. She whirled to see a fire nation soldier lunge at her with a sword and she threw up her arms to protect herself, stumbling backwards, waiting for impact. Instead she heard a loud clatter and she opened her eyes to see that Tomo had intercepted the man with his sword and they were now stuck struggling to overpower the other. Suddenly, Tomo moved his sword, making the soldiers glance off his own and he quickly spun it so the hilt came crashing into the man's head with a sickening crack and he slumped to the ground, lifeless.

"Oh… Thanks…" Tyshi mumbled, still dazed.

"You ok?"

All Tyshi manage was nod. Tomo looked her over real quick, nodded and then moved to open the next door. "You know… the fire nation should consider putting signs down here." Tyshi looked at him, back to normal and then pointed up. "Oh…"

"Yeah. If you were paying attention, you would have noticed that I was following the signs." Tyshi smiled at him teasingly and he blushed sheepishly as he walked into the large, dark room. Tyshi squinted into the dark room and noticed something moving. Tomo flicked on the on the lights and revealed the terrible sight within the room. There were two large cells completely cram packed full of people in horrible conditions. Tyshi felt her legs wobble as she looked around the haggard faces of the tortured earth benders confined here.

"Tyshi, help me get these people out."

Tyshi walked to the second cell door and tugged on it, testing it. It wouldn't budge. She noticed an electric locking system on the wall. Tyshi formed an ice sword and slashed through it and with a low buzz, both doors clicked and jumped a little as they unlocked. Tomo opened the first door and helped the men and women sitting to stand.

"You okay? Are you able to walk?" Everyone nodded to Tomo as he escorted them out of the tiny metal cell. "Alright everyone, please sit over by that wall, we'll get you out of here soon enough." Tomo moved on to the other cell and Tyshi stood back; he seemed to have things under control, so she let him take charge. Tyshi followed behind Tomo, double checking to see if the cells were completely evacuated. She came across a young girl who looked about ten curled up in the corner with her head on her knees and her arms wrapped around her legs.

"Hey, you ok?" Tyshi asked in the kindest voice she could muster, trying to sound maternal to the young girl. She didn't respond. "Why don't you come out of there so I can see if you're hurt?" The girl still didn't say anything, but she looked at Tyshi. Tyshi gasped at the sight of the poor young girl. She had a blood soaked bandage wrapped around her head, covering her left eye. Her right eye was swollen surrounded by big black and purple bruises. There was dried blood in her hair and on her face.

"Oh my god! Oh, sweetie… here, let me help you. I can heal your eyes." She immediately reached for her canteen, sickened by the thought of who could do this. The water spun around her hand, emitting a soft blue light and as she reached for the girl, she cringed away from her. "I won't hurt you. I promise. I just want to help, then I'll get you out of here and you can go home." The girl didn't say anything, but she didn't shy away as Tyshi reached up and undid her bandages. She immediately set about healing the girl and when she was done, the little girl looked up at her with one green eye and a milky, shadowed green eye.

"Can you see?" The girl nodded and Tyshi stood and held her hand out to the silent child on the floor. She grabbed her hand and remained close to her side as Tyshi moved on to tend to others who were also injured. Tomo watched from the doorway, keeping watch for any trouble.

When everyone was tended to, Tyshi walked over to Tomo, the girl still clutching her hand tagged along. "How are we getting out of here?"

"No clue. We could try backtracking."

"We can go through the passageway next door." An older man walked over to join the conversation.

"That leads back out of here?" Tomo asked the man.

"It should. Of course, I can't be sure."

"It's our safest bet." Tyshi said urgently.

"Alright." Tomo said, setting his shoulders determinedly.

"Is there any water in here?" Tyshi asked the man.

"No, but there are pipes under the floor."

Tyshi nodded and patted the girl's hand that was still wrapped around her right hand. "I have to refill real fast ok? I used up my whole supply helping people. I'll hold your hand again in just a minute ok? Then we'll get out of here." The girl nodded and retracted her arm to the side of her body and bowed her head. Tyshi concentrated on the water beneath the floor and brought both hands up and water came blasting through cracks in the floor. She gathered enough to fill both canteens back up and then returned to the young girl, offering her hand once more.

"Ready?" Tyshi asked.

"Tyshi, why don't you stay back a little ways and help out everyone else. You know, help keep an eye on them." Tomo said, appraising the young girl clutching Tyshi's hand.

"Alright, but can you handle this on your own?" She asked, concerned. Before Tomo could respond, the older man stepped forward once more.

"He won't have to." He placed a heavy hand on Tomo's shoulder and turned his attention to the mass of earth benders against the wall. "Anyone who is willing and able, come forth and lead your brothers and sisters to freedom!" His deep voice reverberated off the walls, inspiring the once broken men and women, several of which stepped forward to help lead the way out.

"Thanks…" Tomo said, holding his hand out in an official greeting.

"Kazuki." He said, placing his large, heavy hand in Tomo's.

"I'm Tomo. Now…" He withdrew his sword. "Let's go." He swung the door open and strode forward, three or four large benders flanking his sides and several more dispersed throughout the group. On the way up, there was little opposition and it was quickly abated by those leading the way.

"Halt! Those are our prisoners, where do you think you're going with them?"

Tomo held his sword to the man's throat, threateningly and very calmly. "Out. Any objections?" He pressed the sword harder.

"N-No!" The soldier stuttered, terrified.

"Good." Tomo motioned towards one of the benders and the man was immediately sucked into the wall, only his head protruding. Tomo put a finger to his lips and winked as he led the group forward once more. They shortly reached the doors and Tomo straightened and faced the rest of the congregate.

"Okay everyone, listen up! When we open the doors, run away in any direction you want, just get away from here. I've done this several times before, and you may have to defend yourselves, but if you scatter, it makes it harder for the fire nation soldiers to organize and respond effectively."

Tyshi turned to the little girl. "I have to go back to my friends. Can you get out of here ok on your own?" The little girl just stared at her. Another woman approached them.

"I can take her. Come here dear. I can get you out of here safe and sound." The kind older woman held out her hand and the girl reluctantly let go of Tyshi's hand and flung herself around Tyshi for a hug. Tyshi hugged her back and then she let go and took the other woman's hand.

"Ready?" Tomo asked. Everyone nodded, their faces set with a look of determination and he flung the door open and everyone piled out in droves. Tyshi bolted for the door but someone caught her hand, it was Tomo.

"Come on, let's go this way." He tugged her off in the opposite direction of where she was supposed to meet up with the others.

"But, my friends… I'm supposed to meet them over there!" Tyshi said, slowing and pointing in the other direction.

"Alright, but let's meet up with mine first. Trust me Tyshi; most of the guards are going in that direction over there."

Tyshi hesitated a moment. "Okay… but Tomo, you will get me back to my friends, right?" She gazed sweetly into his hazel eyes; another trick she had learned from Machiko, how to use womanly wiles to get a guy to do what you want.

"Promise." He said in a high voice, blushing slightly and he turned away and cleared his throat so his voice was a little deeper. "Let's go. We've got to hurry."

Tyshi followed him without another word as she set off at a run.

* * *

"Where is she? She knew where we were supposed to meet. She knew, now where is she?! …You don't think she's…?" She's okay, right?" Calen was pacing anxiously.

"Of course she's alright. She's probably just helping some other people or something." Nami reassured him.

"Maybe I should go and look for her."

"Dude, she's fine. Just a little late. Chill and breathe." Katoram said off handedly.

"Alright." He continued his pacing.

* * *

"Juri!"

"Tomo?"

"Yeah. Hey, is Shiro there too?"

"Right here Tomo!" A boy a few years younger, about eighteen, with shaggy brown hair, gray eyes, a yellow shirt with red stripes and cargo pants appeared from a thick patch of trees. "Hey Juri! Tomo's got himself a pretty new friend! Come on out!" Shiro shouted and Tomo covered his face, embarrassed.

A girl about Tyshi's age walked out of the trees. She had long black hair pulled back in a braid, blue-gray eyes, faded and torn jeans and a tight, light blue t-shirt.

"Uh, hi. I'm Tyshi."

"Hi Tyshi, I'm Juri, Tomo's sister and this is Shiro."

"Nice to meet you." Shiro shook her hand.

"So what were you doing out here Tyshi? You don't look like a prisoner."

"Oh, I'm not. My friends and I were helping free them. Not to be rude or anything, but I probably should e getting back to them. They're probably worried about me."

"Sure, we'll go back with you, won't we guys? We'll make sure you get back safe." Tomo said.

"Yeah, okay." Juri said and Shiro nodded.

"They're on the other side of the camp though…" Tyshi said, a little unsure.

"Not a problem. I'd be more than happy to escort you." Tomo replied with a large grin.

"We'll all go. Just let me get Saji. Saji!" Shiro yelled in the direction of the woods.

"Who's Saji?" Tyshi asked.

"He's that spider monkey." Juri answered, pointing to where sure enough a spider monkey was hanging from a branch holding a canteen.

"Hey! That's mine!" Tyshi cried as she jumped and tried to reach her kidnapped canteen.

"Saji, why don't you give her back her canteen?" Shiro asked calmly, but the monkey just chattered back incoherently. Suddenly the canteen was wrenched from Saji's grasp and flew into Juri's hands as if it had a mind of its own. Juri handed the canteen back to Tyshi.

"Whoa! How did you…? Are you a water bender?"

"Uh, yeah, I'm a water bender."

"No way! Me too! I'm from the west coast!"

"Shut up! We're from the east coast!" Juri said motioning to herself then to her brother.

"This is all fascinating," Tomo said sarcastically, breaking up the girls excited babbling "but don't you need to get back?"

"Oh, right. Let's go."

As they walked around the camp, giving it a wide berth, they only ran into trouble once. Two fire benders standing guard by themselves spotted Tyshi and the others.

"Stop!" One shouted, brandishing a hand gun and the other ran off to alert others. The running man was abruptly knocked unconscious to the ground by a flying rock surprisingly shot by Shiro.

"Nice shot." Tomo muttered.

"Stop or I'll shoot!" The first guard shouted, eyeing Shiro a little warily. A water whip snapped the gun from the man's hand. To Tyshi's astonishment, this too was done by Shiro.

"You're the Avatar!" Tyshi exclaimed, shocked.

"Haha… yeah…" Shiro said with a sheepish smile and rubbed the back on his head abashedly. Tomo snatched the gun and hit the startled man hard on the head with the butt of it and he crumpled to the ground.

"He's the Avatar, he's a monkey, she's a water bender…" Tomo said impatiently gesturing from Shiro, to Saji and then to Juri, "and he's a fire nation guard with _lots_ of friends. We should keep moving and get out of here as fast as we can." Tomo said, rushing the others.

* * *

Calen was twirling a few small stones around and around in his hand, a nervous and impatient habit he had picked up from Tyshi. He thought he heard something and paused, but it was nothing so he continued his twirling and pacing.

"…around here somewhere…" Tyshi appeared through a thicket of evergreens.

"Tyshi!" Calen cried, obviously relieved and ran to her, catching her in a smothering hug.

"Finally…" Katoram muttered to herself.

Following Calen's relief and joy was a lecture. He held her at arm's length. "Where have you been?! You were starting to scare me. I've been really worried!"

"Starting to?" Katoram said in her smart-ass way, but she was ignored.

"Sorry, but I got a little hung up. Calen, Nami, Katoram," she said, drawing their attention and bringing Nami and Katoram closer, "this is Tomo. I met him while setting the others free. It's thanks to him that I'm here and in one piece." Tomo blushed at this which made Tyshi giggle. "And this is Juri, Tomo's sister. She's a water bender like me! And… this guy here, this is Shiro. He's the Avatar." The spider monkey on his shoulder chattered loudly. "Oh, and this is Saji."

"The Avatar?" Nami rhetorically said, surprised.

"Dude, no way!" Katoram exclaimed. Her and Nami gathered around Juri and Shiro and quickly became absorbed in deep conversation. Tomo walked over to Tyshi and Calen.

"Hey, I'm Tomo." He held out his hand.

"Calen." He said coldly and gripped his hand tightly.

Tyshi could tell the testosterone was consuming both boys as their hands turned white from the deadly grip they had on each other. Tyshi quickly cleared her throat to break the tension and said, "Hey! Uh… Tomo, Shiro, Juri… Why don't you guys join us? You know, come along with us and help people out and stuff?"

Calen gave Tyshi a disgusted look and Tomo grinned at her.

"Hey, yeah! Come on guys!" Katoram said, looking from face to face eagerly.

"Sounds great!" Juri and Shiro exclaimed.

Calen turned and started walking away. "We should get as far as we can while it's still light out before setting up camp."

A few hours later and a couple miles away, they began to set up camp. Everyone was sitting around the fire, provided by Nami, eating and talking, except for Calen. He was busy creating shelters for the seven of them.

"Here Tyshi, you look cold." Tomo handed the shivering Tyshi a jean jacket he pulled from his pack.

"No, I'm fine, really, it's okay."

"I can see you shivering, just take it." He insisted and draped it over her bare shoulders.

"Thanks, that's sweet of you." She said and put her arms through the sleeves, but they were too long so she rolled them up.

"Ah-" Tomo started to say something, but he was interrupted as Calen appeared behind them and grabbed Tyshi's wrist and started to pull her away.

"I need to talk to you."

When they were out of earshot from the others, he released his grip. Tyshi could tell something was troubling him by the look on his face lit from the distant fire's light and the smile slowly disappeared from her lips.

"What's wrong?" She asked and lightly touched his hand. Calen quickly pulled away and started gesturing angrily and his tone turned annoyed and frustrated.

"Why'd you invite them to join us?" He hissed at her. "We don't need them and they don't need us! And that Tomo jerk, he's an idiot!"

"Shh!" She quickly brought a finger to her lips and put her other hand over his mouth. "You're getting loud and they'll hear you." she muttered.

Calen grasped her wrist and pulled it away, but he did not let go as he leaned over and stared intently at her. "So what? They're traveling with the Avatar. The _Avatar_ Tyshi! Surely the Avatar has better things to do."

"You're right…" As she said this, Calen looked surprised. "I should have asked you and Katoram and Nami before asking them to join us. As soon as one of them mentions splitting up, I won't protest, I promise."

"Are you serious, or just telling me what I want to hear?"

"Serious."

"You're the best."

"I know." She said with a smile which was soon mimicked by Calen before he pulled her into a hug.

"So Calen…?" She said as the embrace ended.

"Hm?"

"Are you jealous of Tomo?" She said teasingly.

"Shut up. You know, it's starting to sound like you like him."

"Nah."

"I dunno…" He teased her back and she punched him in the arm. "Ow, that hurt." He whined, rubbing his arm.

"Baby." She stuck her tongue out at him. He reached for her but she squirmed out of his reach. "Let's go back and get something to eat." Tyshi suggested and they both walked back towards the fire.

* * *

Once again, it's Sarahplainntall. Sorry, but this story is like my baby and I check my email everyday to see if anyone else has commented and you have no IDEA how excited I get when someone writes SOMETHING about this! So I'm literally BEGGING you to write me so kind of response/comment and tell me what you think. I need new ideas for chapters. I'm currently working on typing up Ch. 8, so if you guys have ANY ideas, I would love to hear from my fans! You guys are awesome! 3


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Tyshi and Calen walked back to the camp and found Shiro bending air around Saji, making him float, Tomo and Juri laughing.

"That's what it's like to fly. Pretty neat, huh Saji?" Shiro said. Tyshi giggled a little and Calen smiled and shook his head as the monkey chattered incoherently, twisting in the air.

"Guys, we need to keep moving." Nami said as she poked the fire. "There's a chance we're being followed."  
"You sure you're not just being paranoid?" Said Tomo, Nami ignored the comment and straightened up.

"They're looking for us. We freed their prisoners; they're going to want some kind of compensation." Nami said, and Tomo just stared at her blankly, so in one fluid motion she brought a finger across her neck and made a cutting noise. That made him flinch and grasp his neck.

"Yeah."

"Um, where's Katoram?" Calen asked looking around.

"We sent her for more supplies. We're running a little low. She's got my number so she can find us. She's going to try and get us some kind of transportation."

"Oh yeah, that's going to end well." Calen replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Shut up and grab your stuff. We need to get going." Nami replied shortly, grabbing her pack. Everyone else shouldered a backpack and was traveling quickly and quietly southeast away from the prison cells. Saji was jumping from person to person, getting petted occasionally and shooed away at other times. After a while, he settled on Juri's darkly tanned shoulder and rested.

"Wish I was Saji right now." Calen joked, casting an envious glance at Juri's shoulder. Tyshi through an elbow into his ribs and he cried out.

"Ow! I meant I'm tired of walking." He complained, rubbing his side and Tyshi sighed.

"Whine, whine, whine, is that all you ever do?" Nami said. It was hard to tell if she was joking or nagging, but her tone suggested that she wasn't happy. Calen and Tyshi looked at each other and Calen shrugged surprised, not knowing what he had done wrong. Tyshi returned the confused shrug and continued on, careful to watch what she said or just avoid speaking.

A few minutes of tense silence passed until Saji stirred on Juri's shoulder. He perked up immediately jumped to Shiro and began chattering madly.

"What is it boy? What's wrong?"

"He probably senses something, something not good." Juri said and Nami stopped and held out an arm to stop the others.

"Wait here, I'll check it out."

"Nami don't-" Calen started and Nami cut his off sharply.

"Stay here. Don't get any ideas of being a hero, just stay here, got it?"

"Fine." Calen straightened rigidly and balled his fists at his sides and stared silently as she crept on alone. Even when Nami was well out of sight, Calen stood as he had and Tyshi worried over him, knowing what this meant, and it wasn't good.

"Calen…?" She cautiously tapped his shoulder and gasped. He spun and caught her wrist before she even realized what was happening. He stared down at her coldly and lightly flung her wrist from him, and then he lost it.

"What the hell's her problem?!" Calen shouted. Tyshi knew he wasn't yelling at her, but merely in her direction, but she couldn't help but flinch a little. Tomo stepped forward and in between Tyshi and Calen, feeling a surge of protectiveness towards Tyshi.

"Hey! Don't yell at her for _your_ problem!"

"Huh?" Tomo had caught him off guard in his rhetorical rant, but his anger quickly tuned in on Tomo. "What the hell are you talking about? What business of it is yours?" Calen hissed angrily.

"Tomo don't…" Juri warned.

"Calen stop…" Tyshi insisted, peeking around Tomo's strong frame. Both girls were ignored as the testosterone in each male took over.

"It's my business when you start-"

"Oh yeah?! Who even asked you, you-"

"What do you mean who asked me? You did!"

"You want a piece of me you spiky haired freak?!"

"I think I do you pebble-brained numbskull!"

Each guy launched towards the other, fists poised when a force pulled them both back again. The girls had taken over the situation and separated the squabbling boys with water that was turned to ice to keep them in place, no matter how much they struggled.

"Look at yourself! Both of you! Do you know how immature you're both acting?! Honestly! You look like a pair of three year olds!" Juri was yelling, gesturing wildly. Calen and Tomo began protesting and arguing immediately.

"Shut up!" Tyshi yelled and slapped a hand over Calen's mouth and sent a penetrating glare at Tomo that shut him up instantly.

"Tomo," Juri started again after regaining her composure. "You _can't_ just go jumping into other people's business. You _have_ to learn to control you anger, alright?"

"Juri, let me go."  
"No. You're not going anywhere until we work this out."

"Fine. I'll stop butting in and blah, blah, blah."

"I don't know that didn't sound very convincing, now did it Juri?" Tyshi said sarcastically.

"Hm, not really. I'm serious Tomo, we can wait here all day if you want."

Tomo exhaled, defeated. "Alright. Calen, sorry I butted in. Happy?"

"And…?" His sister prompted.

"And I'll try to control my temper in the future."

"There, see? That wasn't so bad, now was it?" Tomo just stared at her with a great deal of loathing.

"Do you accept his apology Calen?" Tyshi asked.

"Mmph hmm nuh." He said muffledly through Tyshi's hand. She didn't remove her hand because she knew what he was saying and it wasn't going to be solving any problems soon, so she left it clamped over his mouth. Defeated, Calen nodded yes.

"Good. Now that this little problems solved, I have this to say. This morning I saw Nami looking at that map. She hasn't really… acted normally since. I'm pretty sure she knew what was ahead and what to expect. That was probably why she didn't want anyone else to go with her. Got it?" Again, Calen nodded.

"Nnn hmm mmph!" He mumbled

"What?" Tyshi said, removing her hand.

"I get it, now can you let m go? I'm freezing my ass off, literally!"

"Yeah! Little help?" Tomo shouted in agreement.

"Just a second." Juri said and collected the frigid water, letting Tomo fall on his back. Tyshi followed her example and let Calen fall as well.

"Thanks" Calen said sarcastically, rubbing his butt.

"What are you guys doing?" Nami asked, reappearing from between the trees.

"Oh hey! Looks like you missed the fun." Calen teased with a big grin.

"Sure looks like it… Anyways, there's another camp up ahead."

"No way. More prisoners?" Shiro asked.

"'Fraid so. Well, you guys ready to raise some more hell?"

"Looks like we don't have much of a choice." Tomo said.

"What he really means is let's go." Juri translated.

"Alright. Stick close and stay quiet." Nami instructed, staring at all of them with her golden eyes. They nodded and followed her through the trees.

As the girls started off again, Tomo nodded to Calen and he nodded back. They walked up behind Shiro and grabbed one arm each and Tomo covered his mouth. The two older boys dragged him back a few yards.

"Dude, where were you for that? You're supposed to back us up. You know, water bend us out and junk."

"Sorry guys, I was staying out of that one. I was raised in a non-confrontational manor and stuff."

"You were scared, weren't ya?" Calen interjected.

"Terrified. I wasn't getting in the middle of that. I could have been killed. Besides, if I had freed you two, they would have hurt me."

"Ha! I know what you mean. Girls are scary!" Laughed Calen.

"Yeah, Juri will kill you without hesitation if given a reason." Tomo agreed, laughing as well. "Heck, Nami scares the hell out of me at times."

Soon all of them were laughing together until a barrage of small stones pelted them.

"Ow, ow, ow! Hey! I thought I was the only earth bender!" Calen shouted, ducking and covering for the attack. When Shiro, Calen and Tomo looked up, they gulped in unison. Nami, Tyshi and Juri were glaring at them, with another handful of stones. Those were soon thrown too to get the message across: shut up, don't mess with the girls, grovel and get moving. Fortunately for the guys sake, they got the message loud and clear. They ran after the disgruntled girls, begging their forgiveness.

Nami cut them off at one point and told everyone to be quiet. They were approaching the other holding camp. In a huddled mass they formulated a plot and set off in their own direction. They spread out and encircled the camp so they could close in and conquer.

Nami snuck into the nearest cell through an unlocked and surprisingly unguarded door. A few steps in and the heavy iron clad door closed on its own. The hollow clang of metal echoed down the abandoned halls. Nami flinched, hoping nobody would trace the noise to her so she quickly moved on through the dark. Moaning could be heard coming from the left up ahead. With the snap of her fingers, she had light to guide her through the dark, winding passage ways towards the pained sounds of captives. Rounding a corner, a blunt object met Nami's stomach and her breath left her with a whoosh.

* * *

Shiro had volunteered for a cell near the center of the camp. He stuck to gliding from one rooftop to another, his baggy clothes billowed slightly as he bent the air currents to fit his needs. Shiro was surprised at how lifeless the grounds seemed. There were no guards in sight, which was probably a good thing, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was really bothering him. It was so quiet that… that was it! There was total silence here. Not even the chirp of a bird could be heard; it was eerily silent. Shiro pondered this as he touched down on the cell rooftop he was aiming for, then to the ground. He circled the building until he found the entrance on the far side. The door was sturdy and undoubtedly locked, but Shiro tried anyways. The door swung open with ease and revealed a dark hallway. The silence was broken by a low thudding. Shiro was about to call out when a heavy woven net dropped down on him.

* * *

Across the camp, Juri was strategizing a way to infiltrate the cell a couple of yards from her hiding spot in the thick woods. She decided on going through the lock. Hand poised over her canteen, just in case, she made her way to the metal door. Juri tried the handle to see what kind of lock was keeping the door bolted. Muscles tense, she twisted and pulled, then it gave way with a swoosh of stale air.

Juri was cautious and suspicious as she tread quietly down the hall. The only light source came from the open door, but as she went farther, the light seemed to shrink. With a bang the light was gone. The door had slammed shut by itself. Juri ran back down only the hall towards her only escape, but something was wrapping around her ankle. Juri was falling through the dark and flopped onto her stomach. Her canteen clattered to the floor and rolled off into the dark unknown. There was a jerk on the rope and Juri was being dragged down the hall on her stomach, desperately scratching at the cool, smooth, metallic floor.

* * *

Tomo went to the prison cell to the west. He didn't have any bending ability, but he was well trained in using his sword which he now kept on his back in case he needed it. Saji had also come with him and who knew, he might come in handy. Tomo walked around the prison cell. He found one window and a door leading in He approached the window set high up on the building. Standing on tiptoe, he reached for the latch but it was still out of reach. He unsheathed his sword and tried to open the hook latch with it. The tip of the sword caught the hood and he swiveled it around, inhaling in anticipation as it swung around and caught again on the other side, re-latching it. In a bad mood, he put his sword back in the sheath and grabbed Saji off the ground and held him up to the window. Saji was squirming and screeching in protest, then dropped down onto Tomo's face.

"Saji! All you have to do is unlatch and open the window. It's really not that hard, even if your little monkey brain is less superior to my mighty human intellect." Tomo held him up to the window again and this time he obediently jumped onto the ledge and opened the window.

"Good job! I'll be up in a minute." Tomo jumped, hung from the ledge and pulled himself up about two inches before his grip slipped and he fell on his back.

"On second thought, I think I'll try the door."

Fortunately for Tomo and his 'intellect' the door was unlocked. He had just walked a few feet of the dark halls when the door slammed behind him. Immediately, he was swallowed by darkness.

"Okay… like it wasn't creepy enough before…" Tomo fumbled through the pockets of his baggy blue jeans until he found what he was looking for, a lighter. He turned a slow circle, holding the lighter before him and examined his surroundings. He was in a metal hallway with no doors or anything in sight but the slick metal walls, the ceiling and the floor. There was a rustling noise, but he couldn't tell where. Lighter in one hand, he slid his other over the handle of his sword just in case. Something hit him in the back of the head and Tomo cried out in alarm, dropping the lighter to the floor with a clatter. There was a new sound. Saji was chattering on Tomo's shoulder.

"Saji!" Look what you made me do! Where's that lighter?" Tomo groped through the darkness, searching blindly for his lighter. Saji jumped from Tomo's shoulder and ran off.

"Oh well. Dumb monkey can fend for himself." A minute later, Saji came running up and dropped something in front of Tomo.

"Whatcha got?" Tomo grasped the item and stood up. The dim flickering of the lighter came back and so did Tomo's vision. Saji jumped back onto Tomo's shoulder chattering happily.

"Oh yeah? Well, find the keys." Tomo said bitterly. They walked until they came to the end of the hall and found a door on the right with light pouring out from beneath it. Tomo opened the door curiously and didn't like what he saw. Inside sat three guards at a table playing cards.

"Oh, sorry fellas. I must have the wrong room. Well, I'll just be going now." Tomo turned and ran back the way he came. Footsteps were following him and suddenly the lights overhead flickered on. Tomo dared to glance over his shoulder and found all three chasing him. None seemed to have weapons, but they all looked pretty dangerous.

Tomo skidded to a halt halfway down and drew his sword. It was a pretty narrow hallway, but two of the guards were able to advance at the same time. One guard pulled out a long metal linked chain and the other took out a night stick. The first man swung his chain, but it glanced off Tomo's sword. He swung again and it wrapped around the blade. This became a tug-of-war match and the second man took the opportunity and advanced, his night stick raised. Saji jumped on the man's head and pushed his hat down over his eyes, keeping him distracted and temporarily distracting the other guard. Tomo took this opportunity to gain an advantage. He ripped the chain from the man's hands and cracked him on the head with the hilt of his sword. His legs crumpled beneath him and he fell in a motionless pile of the floor. The second guard struggling with Saji finally managed to wrestle him off, but the first thing he saw was a fist. Tomo decked him square in the face and he too crumpled. The third guard stepped over his fallen comrades and faced Tomo with the night stick dropped by the second man in a swirl of long blonde hair. She squared off with Tomo, night stick raised threateningly.

"Well hello…" He said flirtatiously. She let out an angry growl and brought the night stick crashing down only to be blocked by his sword.

"So I'll take that as a no, huh?"

The two of them got into a 'sword fight'. The guard was swinging wildly and angrily while Tomo parried each swing skillfully. She brought it crashing towards his head in a downward swing and he blocked. It turned into a battle of who was stronger as their weapons crossed and they put their weight into it.

"I'd love to stay and chat because you're such a talkative and beautiful, but I gotta run. I've also been told it's not nice to hit girls so…" Tomo put all his weight and strength into pushing her back and off balance. She fell back and dropped the night stick. Tomo launched himself on the guard and tied her with the chain to one of the unconscious guards. She struggled while cursing and screaming angrily at him.

"Sorry, but like I said, I gotta be goin' now." Tomo turned back to where he had last seen Saji. "Saji! Come on, we've got to go!"

The little black and white spider monkey came running up with something shiny and jingling clutched in his hand. Saji jumped back onto Tomo's shoulder and dropped the object in Tomo's hand as he ran back down the hall. Tomo held up a ring of keys and looked at Saji.

"Wow, you are good." Tomo said, bursting back out the door of the prison cell.

* * *

Nami fell to her knees after getting hit in the stomach with a shovel. The guard came around the corner, tapping the shovel against his palm, grinning cruelly. Nami brought her leg around in a sweeping motion knocking his legs out from under him. The guard fell on his back and the shovel landed with a clatter next to him. He started to sit up, but Nami put a foot on his chest and pushed him back down, holding the shovel menacingly over his head.

"Where are the prisoners?" He didn't answer. "I said…" Nami put the blade of the shovel to his throat, "…Where are the prisoners?"

"There." He gasped, pointing down the hall towards the source of moaning and noise.

Luckily, Nami was experienced in this sort of thing and she pulled the man roughly to his feet and twisted his arm behind his back, forcing him to lead the way. When they reached the holding cells, Nami was disgusted by what she saw, despite seeing it all before. Over a dozen prisoners were cram-packed into four or five cells each. Their faces were sunken and haggard. A foul stench filled the air, causing Nami to be hit with a wave of nausea.

"The keys." She demanded twisting his arm further.  
"I don't have them." He cried meekly in a pained voice.

"Liar." She hissed and slammed him against the wall.

"I swear!" He shouted, sounding panicky. "I'm just a guard. I don't have clearance to carry any keys."

Nami stared him down for a minute. "Fine." She let him go and pointed with the shovel to the corner opposite of the door. "Go. Now." The guard scurried over, afraid.

Nami strode over to the first padlocked cell and heated the lock before striking it with the tip of the shovel. After a couple strikes, the lock gave way. She opened the barred door, but told the grateful prisoners to wait to leave the prison cell. Nami moved on to the next padlocked cell and halfway through, one of the cell mates cried out.

"He's getting away!"

In one fluid motion, she flung the shovel in front of the guard and the heated point stuck in the metal wall. He stopped dead in his tracks and turned fearfully towards Nami as she approached him. Defeated, he didn't resist when she clutched him round the neck and shoved him into the first empty cell. She closed the door with a clang, replaced the broken lock and melted it back together.

The tired prisoners cheered as the guard shook and banged angrily on the locked door and Nami continued liberating the abducted benders. When everyone was free, she told them to follow her and she led them to freedom.

* * *

The steel meshed net containing Shiro was weighted with magnetic metal spheres surrounding the outside of the net. A tough, leathery old man in a fire nation uniform strode up and kneeled next to him.

"Welcome to fire nation hell kid."

"Thanks, but I don't think I'll be staying long.

"Oh, I think you will." He walked over to a control panel on the wall and pulled a lever. There was a whir of machinery coming to life and the floor dropped out from under Shiro.

His air bending instinct kicked in and Shiro suspended himself with an air ball. He shot back up the trap door shaft before it could close again, sending a strong blast of wind before him. The current was so strong, it pried the magnetic net off the floor and it stuck to the ceiling above. Shiro appeared and touched down on solid ground lightly. The guard stared wide eyed and slack jawed.

"You're the, the, the Avatar…" He stuttered.

"Nah, just a kid in fire nation hell." He smirked darkly and as quick as a flash with a strong swirl of wind, the guard found himself suspended in the air inside the net stuck to the ceiling.

"Later dude." Shiro started walking down the hall.

"Help in cell seven. I repeat…" The soldier was talking into a walkie-talkie that was sent hurtling into the wall by a current of wind. It was too late though. The damage had been done. Shiro could already hear the distant shouts of guards headed his way.

"Oh crap…" he muttered as six guards burst into the narrow hallway from where Shiro had entered. The first of the guards was pushed forward as the others crowded in behind him and fell through the floor. The trap door was still open! _Now_ Shiro had a fighting chance.

"Get him you idiots!"

"Captain?" All the new guards were fairly young and looked unsure of their actions. They side stepped the trap door and advanced. Two guards took the lead and their hands burst into flames.

"Oh dang…" Shiro went into defensive mode as the two fire bending guards shot flames at him. He jumped up, grabbed onto a pipe and propelled himself forward, knocking as unsuspecting guard reeling backwards. He stumbled, his arms wind milling as he teetered on the edge of the trap door. A female guard caught his hand, but a strong gust of wind sent them both tumbling through the hole in the floor.

There was no time to celebrate minor personal victories because the other fire bender was relentless in his attacks. The more Shiro dodged, the more he realized how little control the soldier had over his bending. 'Maybe I can use him to help me.' He thought. Shiro ran up the wall and in a circle around the fire bender while he continuously shot at him.

"You idiot!" The man in the net screamed at the young guard, beating out his flaming sleeve. The other female guard screamed as flames licked at her hair and she ran around screaming and patting the flames.

"Oh shit! I'm so sorry!" The fire bender yelled trying to help his flaming comrade. During the distraction, Shiro managed to knock the frantic girl and other fire bender through the trap door, leaving two other clueless looking trainee guards. Shiro's plan was to get behind them and push them with a blast of air into the trap door with the others. Taking a running jump, he dove between them, but something caught his ankle and brought him crashing to the ground. The guard had caught him, quickly pinned him and brought his fist crashing down on Shiro's face.

Shiro let out an agonized cry and sent the guard flying through the air and crashing into a pipe on the ceiling. The pipe cracked and the guard fell in a heap on the floor groaning. A steady stream of water began pooling on the floor. The other guard stood over Shiro, but before he could do anything, a water whip knocked him back. As soon as he hit the floor, Shiro pulled him up and dropped him into the trap door. The remaining guard was similarly disposed of.

The guard in the net remained silent, disappointed. Shiro picked himself up and walked over to the pool of water. His left eye was starting to swell and his face was blood smeared. He carefully washed his face before finally continuing down the tunnel. Shiro soon found the holding cells and located the keys high up on the wall, but that was no problem. Shiro jumped up, grabbed the keys and freed all the prisoners after warning to watch out for the open trap door. Before leaving himself, Shiro arranged his long shaggy hair over his swollen eye.

* * *

Juri let out a scream as she was dragged down the dark hall by the rope around her ankle. The rope jerked vertically and Juri was soon hanging upside down. She heard footsteps approaching and she hastily tucked her t-shirt into her jeans to avoid making the situation any worse than it already was. The footsteps grew louder as they got closer so Juri pulled herself up and desperately tried to untie herself.

"If I had my canteen…" She mumbled to herself.

"Hello. It's so nice of you to come and _hang_ around." The fire nation soldier laughed at his own joke as he walked up to Juri who had given up on untying herself.

"You need _way_ better material." Juri said dryly. The soldier looked taken a back, but he shrugged it off.

"At least I'm not hanging upside down by a rope." He sneered.

'Good If I can distract him long enough, maybe I can summon the canteen without him noticing.' Juri thought as she focused all her energy on retrieving the canteen while she exchanged snide remarks with the guard.

"I don't know if it's the angle I'm at right now, but are you really that ugly right side up too?"

"Insolent brat…" He growled and he went to punch her, but she swung up and out of his way just as a canteen smashed into his face. He stumbled back, cupping his face and cursing while Juri swung down and caught the canteen. Juri held onto the rope above her ankle and sliced through it with the water just under where she was holding. Her legs swung down and she righted herself before dropping the few feet to the floor. She ran past the guard, canteen in hand, but a fireball exploded at her heels, causing her to trip. When she picked herself back up and turned, she found herself facing the red canteen face marked guard. He re-lit his hand while Juri pulled out her water again. Water and fire collided in a loud hiss of steam

"Looks like your source has run out, but mine hasn't." He sneered, stepping forward until he stood right before her.

"I'm not just a bender." Her fist extended quickly and met with his nose admitting a sickening crack. The man fell to the ground, clutching his face once again and yelling in agony. "And you're not as smart as you seem." Juri knelt next to his writhing form and snatched his key ring before striding down the hall to free the prisoners.

* * *

A mass of bending prisoners, guards, Tomo, Shiro, Juri, Nami, Calen and Tyshi all met near the center of camp. Alarms were raised and giant metal walls rose from the ground to encircle the metal floor the prison cells were built on. Total chaos ensued as prisoners and guards clashed. The seven of them somehow found each other; Tyshi, Calen, Juri, Tomo, Shiro, Nami and… Mazuki?

"Mazuki?! Is that you?" Tyshi exclaimed surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Well… I'm not so great at the whole escape thing. Can I go with you?" Mazuki pleaded. She had been captured before, but had made a special connection with her rescuer, Tyshi. This of course was back before Calen had come back and Tyshi had been traveling Japan and came across a traveling band of soldiers transporting a small group of prisoners.

"Of course!"

"No!" Calen exclaimed.

"What? Why?!" Tyshi burst out angrily.

"Discuss it later! We have bigger issues! For now, she comes with us!" Nami shouted, blocking attacks.

"That's great and all, but how do we get of here?!" Tomo yelled frantically waving something around.

"What is that Tomo?" Juri asked, pulling him out of the action so they could talk easier.

"What? This?" He held it up. "Just some keys."

"Where'd you get it? They look really official."

"Are you mad?! They're just keys! _Keys!_" Juri held out the keys she had stolen and there were only two small silver keys on the ring. Tomo's key ring had seven gold keys with the numbers 1-7 written on them and a large red key.

"They must be the answer to getting out of here! Take the red one and figure it out! I lost my water, so I'll take the seven gold keys and do a final sweep."

"Here." He took off the red key and tossed the ring to his sister and they split up.

Mazuki was careful to stay near Tyshi. She wasn't much of a fighter, but Tyshi was good enough to protect them both and Mazuki was able to alert her of soldiers sneaking up on her.

"Behind you!" The familiar sound of fast moving water making contact with skin was Tyshi's means of reply.

"On your left!

"Oof!"

Mazuki's warning had come too little too late. A young, but strong fire nation soldier had launched himself and tackled Tyshi, pinning her legs and arms.

"Lucky me, I caught a cute one." He grinned maliciously down at her as Tyshi squirmed and fought uselessly. Mazuki wasn't helpful in this type of situation, but she knew someone who was and she ran off in search of help.

* * *

Tomo ran around the edge of the wall, searching but to no avail. On occasion, a guard would spot him and Tomo would withdraw his sword and that would usually discourage them. "Where is it? Where is the control panel thingy?!" He muttered to himself, searching wildly. Then Tomo noticed something he hadn't before. There was a ladder leading to the top of the center cell, on top of which stood a guard near a large rectangular box like thing.

"Bingo." He made his way to the ladder, sword in hand and started to climb.

* * *

Juri had been to all the cells and feed the few remaining prisoners. Her job was done and now she decided to see if she could find any water for herself and the other water benders.

"Of course!" She ran back into a particular cell she had explored earlier and ran back out looking ecstatic. Juri then ran to the closest person wearing blue, a middle aged man holding his own with a pair of fists against a guard. When the guard crawled away after a few good hits, Juri piped up.

"Hey! Excuse me sir! Are you a water bender?"

"Yeah. Can I help you?"

"Actually, you can. Come with me please." Juri led him into the cell and a few minutes later emerged, each controlling a wave of water.

"Water benders! Take your chance to fight back!" Juri exclaimed and a grossly unfair fight began to even out.

* * *

"Calen!" Mazuki appeared next to him as he was helping a couple others hold back some fire bending soldiers.

"Kinda busy here." He grunted as a guard and him locked fists in a wrestling match.

"It's Tyshi! She-"

"What?!" He pushed the soldier back and decked him quickly, making him collapse then turned to Mazuki. "Is Tyshi okay? Where is she?" Stunned, Mazuki could only point.

The guard straddling Tyshi was enjoying his advantage thoroughly.

"You sure are feisty. Maybe I should take you back with me as a personal trophy." He sneered, leaning low over her.

"Get… off… fire nation… scum!" She gasped under his crushing weight.

"You know you like it." He smirked.

The soldier was sent hurtling off of her. Calen had tackled him and was now straddling the soldier, pounding him senseless. Tyshi gasped for breath and picked herself up.

"Calen, Calen stop! You're going to kill him!" She tugged at his arm when he pulled it back for another brutal attack. He finally relented and left the guard seething in a bloody heap.

"Are you alright?" He panted.

"Fine. Now let's get out of here!" Tyshi turned to Mazuki. "Thanks."

"No problem."

The three of them ran to help some others.

* * *

Tomo peered over the edge of the roof and saw the guard watching the tremendous battle below him.

"I don't want to hurt you. Just tell me how to open the gate and leave." Tomo stood behind the man with the point of his sword pointed towards his back. The man merely smiled, dropped down and knocked Tomo's legs out from under him. He fell hard and his sword clattered to the ground a few feet away. The man stood and began hurling fire balls at him. Tomo had to dodge them by rolling.

Tomo jumped to his feet and grabbed his sword, but he was still at a disadvantage. Fire had a longer reach then the swords blade. The guard fired some more and Tomo was able to dodge some, but others he had to glance off his sword. The guard advanced again, so he backed up some more, but his heel hit the raised edge of the roof. The guard had cornered him and it was a good fifteen foot drop on to the metal floor below.

In a final act of desperation, Tomo threw his sword at the man, but he side stepped it and it clattered across the roof. The guard approached once more and raised a flaming fist. Tomo gulped at his impending doom.

On a gust of wind and a flash of red and yellow, Shiro stood between Tomo and the fire bending guard.

"Where the hell did you come from?" The man yelled, obviously shocked.

"Down there, where you're going."

"Don't think so."

"Well I do." Shiro moved his hands in a circular motion and he created a whirlwind that suspended the guard in the air. Continuously moving his hands he maneuvered the man over the edge and clapped his hands together and let him drop to the ground.

"Thanks man."

"Anytime." Shiro said and ran over to the ladder while Tomo went to the control panel, key in hand.

Shiro quickly examined the structure of the ladder and saw that it was only attached to the top by two bolts. He reached into the pocket of his tan cargo shorts and pulled out a large rectangular piece of metal. He hit a button on the top of it and wings immediately protruded from the sides. He grabbed a hold of the small glider and skimmed over the crowd. He managed to get a hold of some of the water the benders were using and flew back up to the roof. He knelt over the ladder, brushed the hair from his face and surrounded each bolt with some water and froze it. Standing now, he kicked the ladder away from the wall and the bolts gave way. The ladder crashed on the guard from earlier who had finally managed to get up and make his way back to the ladder.

"Heads." Shiro called. The man yelled as he crumpled beneath the weight of the ladder and had to crawl out from under it. "Tried to warn you!" He called down with a grin. In response, he let out an angry growl and shot a stream of fire at him, which was easily avoidable.

Tomo was struggling with the control panel. He had inserted the key, but now he was stuck. There were multiple switches and buttons.

"The one time I could actually use an instruction manual…" He muttered and began trying anything and everything. All the buttons he had pushed and switches he had flipped seemed to have done nothing

"Come on!" He yelled exasperated and he pounded a fist on the panel and an alarm went off. He lifted his head. "Uh-oh…"

Shiro ran over. "What did you do?!"

"I don't know!"

"Well turn it off!"

"I'm trying!" Tomo yelled over the siren, frantically pushing buttons. "Got it!" He yelled as the sound died. Streams of fire shot over the sides at them.

"They know we're up here!"

"Can you do something to stop them?"

"Yeah." Shiro pulled out his glider and opened one wing. He ran around the edge of the roof and used the glider wing to blow all the guards away. Tomo was frantically hitting buttons again. There was a loud whir of machinery and the walls lowered. Without walls, the dirt ground around the cells was open and now the earth benders got a chance to fight back.

"You did it Tomo!"

"Yeah, I did, didn't I… Hey! Let's get out of here!" Shiro opened his glider the rest of the way.

"Hold on!"

They glided down to where the rest of their group was running back to their camp.

* * *

Everyone met up at camp, gasping for breath.

"So… is everyone… okay?" Tyshi asked between pants and everyone nodded.

Shiro pushed his sweaty bangs out of his face and Juri gasped.

"Shiro!" He jumped startled. "What happened?!" He quickly combed his hair back over his swollen eye.

"Nothing."

Juri walked over, held his head in her hand, tilted his face up and swept the hair away gingerly.

"Oh Shiro…" She pulled some water from her refilled canteen and created an ice ball and handed it to him to bring the swelling down.

"Thanks." He pressed it gently to his eye, wincing.

"Tyshi, is there anything you can do? I… I don't know how to heal." Juri looked down, ashamed.

"Really? Oh, um, no… there's nothing I can do for that really. The damage is already done and the ice should help. That's about it. I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine. Feels better already." Shiro said, smiling sincerely.

"Mazuki, how are you?" Tyshi asked.

"Good. Just a little tired."

"So, um… where do you live? Where's your family?" Calen asked forwardly, trying to be inconspicuous.

"Gone. Well, my house is gone, my parents are… somewhere. We got separated a while ago and then I was jailed."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Well… good luck with finding them and all." He said

"Calen!" Tyshi snapped. "You're horrible!" She turned her attention back to Mazuki. "You're not a bender, are you?"

"Nope."

"Then why'd they jail you?" Calen asked suspiciously.

"My technology."

"Your technology?" Tomo asked confused.

"I invented a series of spy equipment. I gathered fire nation secrets and gave it to higher ups that could use it to stop them."

"And how old are you?" Juri asked incredulously.

"Eighteen, now at least."

"Wow, that's impressive for someone at your age." Calen admitted.

"Eighteen year olds are amazing. I mean the avatar and a technological genius are eighteen." Shiro piped up with a proud grin, bobbing his eyebrows.

"Anyways." Nami cut in. "It sounds like she could be helpful. Mazuki, would you like to come with us?" She offered.

"Yeah!" She said excitedly.

"Now that that's settled, I'm going to call Katoram for an update." Nami whipped out her phone and made a call, walking off a few feet. Calen made another shelter for Mazuki and everyone got settled. A few minutes later, Nami came back and reported.

"She has our location and she'll be here in 10-15 minutes. I warned her of the prison camp so she'll steer clear. She has plenty of supplies, but she wasn't able to get any kind of transportation."

Everyone chatted in the warm afternoon light, waiting for Katoram's return. What they didn't realize was someone was watching them from the cover of darkness in the trees. Someone in a long, dark, flowing cloak with the fire nations insignia on the back.

* * *

Hey everyone, it's Sarahplainntall. So, Ch 8 is in the process of being written, but it's nearing the end of the semester and Professors are cruel and have 2 tests a week and huge papers due at the same time, so I apologize that it'll take me a while to get the next chapter posted. Let me know what you think of this one and it'll inspire to write the next one faster. Hope you enjoyed it!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

There was a rustle from the trees on the edge of their camp. Calen crouched low and prepared a large boulder, Tomo gripped the hilt of his sword and Nami and the others tensed, ready for anything.

"Ow! Stupid tree!" Upon hearing this, everyone relaxed there stances and Nami and Calen approached the ragged voice coming from the edge of the trees.

"About time Katoram. You missed all the fun." Calen teased as she came into view, lugging an enormous pack and dragging more supplies behind her.

"Shut up and help me." She said tiredly and heaved the pack off her back into Calen's general direction and left the supplies she was dragging where they lay for Nami to grab. "God I'm tired. Can you say shower?" She asked and held up a bar of soap and motioned to the pack Calen was carrying back to the others.

"A bath! That sounds _amazing_!" Mazuki exclaimed.

"There's a lake just over there." Juri offered, pointing off through the trees.

"What are we waiting for?" Mazuki cried, jumping up and digging through the pack Calen had just set down and flinging soaps and shampoos all over the place and pulling out a stack of towels. "Race you there!" She cried, towel, soap and a bottle of shampoo in hand and took off in the direction Juri had indicated earlier.

"You boys got the whole water temp thing covered?" Tyshi asked.

"Got it." Shiro said smiling. "Or at least I should… Well, here's an opportunity to see how my fire bending's coming along. Tomo and Calen exchanged a glance.

"Great…" Tomo muttered.

The girls and boys walked together towards the lake, bath supplies in hand and as they neared the water's edge, the boys split off to the left to seek another spot to bathe in private. Mazuki was standing nude in the water, shivering and her arms wrapped around herself?

"Cold?" Nami asked. All Mazuki could do was nod, teeth chattering. "I'll fix it." Nami heated her hand and stuck it in the water and you could see Mazuki warm with the water.

"There we go. _Now _it's a bath." And she sunk under the water. The rest of the girls striped and joined her in the water.

"Oh, I've been waiting for one of these for I don't know how long." Juri said, rinsing her dirt covered skin with the warm water.

Tyshi was the last to join the bathing party and she carried all the dirty clothes. "Might as well wash these. Kinda defeats the point to be clean but put on dirty clothes."

"Thanks Tyshi. I also got some more clothes too. They're in the bag… back at camp." She finished, realizing the problem.

"I grabbed the bag of stuff." Nami said, sinking low into the warm water.

"Good thinking." Nami just nodded.

Tyshi took one of the bars of soap and scrubbed it vigorously across all the soaked clothing items. Juri waded over and helped her wash them by running a clean current of water through them, removing the soap and leaving them clean. Both girls then took an armful of soaking clothing and draped it over a sturdy branch of a nearby tree and bended the water out of them, leaving the clothes clean and dry. The girls returned to bathing and idly chatting with each other.

"So… Tyshi…" Mazuki started.

"Hm?"

"How long have you and Calen been dating?"

Tyshi immediately paused in the middle of what she was doing and turned to look at Mazuki stunned. The other three girls stopped similarly and watched, listening closely, filled with curiosity.

"Uh, no, it's not like that… we're not, we don't… we're just friends." Tyshi stuttered, taken a back.

"Nu-uh!" Mazuki exclaimed, her eyes wide. Tyshi just nodded dumbfounded.

"You two sure act like you're dating." Katoram muttered.

"We're not, he's just my best friend."

"Wow, you two are _really_ close then." Juri said.

"Yeah, I keep waiting for you guys to just start making out at any moment." Katoram cracked and started laughing.

Tyshi looked mortified. "No, we're just friends. Always have been, always will be. We grew up together, he's practically my brother!" She cried exasperated.

"Well I think it's sweet the way you two act. He's so protective of you and you guys are just so cute! Always holding hands, hugging, it's adorable. You two would make an adorable couple… that is if you _felt_ that way…" Juri said, leaning in expectantly, waiting for an answer.

"Yeah, Tyshi, do you at least _like_ him?" Mazuki asked. Katoram, Juri and Mazuki had crowded in on her and Nami watched quietly from where she had been.

"No…No! I don't _like_ him, not like that. It would be weird. We're just friends and he's… he's like family! There's nothing like _that_ going on." Tyshi crossed her arms firmly and stubbornly.

"Alright, fine. You're just friends." Katoram said skeptically.

"So does that mean he's single?" Mazuki asked eagerly.

"Uh… I guess."

"Good! God, he is just so _cute_! I mean he's so tall and strong and his face, his hair and his eyes… such pretty eyes." Mazuki said, swept away in her euphoria.

"He is gorgeous…" Juri said with a wry smile.

"You should see him shirtless." Katoram piped up, bobbing her eyebrows.

"Yeah? That good?!" Mazuki asked excitedly.

"Oh yeah. Six pack abs, well defined chest, _huge_ arms!" Katoram said, her eyes glazing over slightly with a dreamy smile on her face. Mazuki and Juri sighed. Tyshi gave the girls a strange look.

"Too bad he only likes Tyshi." Mazuki pouted.

"He does not!" She cried in protest.

"Please! It's so _obvious_ he likes you!" Katoram said exasperated.

"No he doesn't. That's just how Calen is! He's always been like that! Like I said earlier, we're just friends. That's just how it works with us."

"I wish I had a friend like that…" Juri murmured sadly.

"Fine, fine, you and Calen are just friends, but _Tomo_ likes you!" Mazuki cried.

"It's true. It's funny to watch him when he's around a girl he likes. It's almost sad." Juri said, contemplating. Tyshi blushed and Mazuki continued on.

"He's cute too. He's tall and strong, he doesn't look as strong as Calen though, but his blue eyes are so pretty next to his black hair. He has a nice smile and he's so funny too! Not to mention he's got a cute butt!" Mazuki had that dreamy look on her face again. Juri made gagging noises.

"Ew! I don't want to hear my _brother_ described like _that_!" Juri cried and Nami, Katoram and Mazuki laughed at her.

"Man! You're so lucky! You get all the cute guys." Mazuki pouted again. Tyshi opened her mouth to protest but she was cut off. "You know I don't mean like that. Besides, you can't deny that Tomo likes you. It's so _obvious. _I mean he's like a lost puppy. It's actually kind of cute."

"Really? I hadn't really noticed." Tyshi said offhandedly, trying to avoid the subject.

"You're too close. People too close to the situation never notice these kinds of things." Juri stated.

"Anyways, we're definitely lucky. We are traveling with a good looking group of guys. Even Shiro's pretty cute. He's a little young for me though."

"Mazuki! He's _your_ age!" Tyshi yelled.

"So…?" She trailed off sheepishly. Katoram laughed.

"I'm pretty sure he's got something for Juri anyways." Katoram laughed again.

"I thought so too." Mazuki said squinting suspiciously at Juri.

"Shut up." Juri said, splashing the other two. The bath had turned into a splash fight. Tyshi was just glad that conversation had ended.

* * *

The boys had settled around a bend in the lake, hidden by a thick cover of trees. The boys peeled off their dirt and sweat encrusted clothes and through them in a stiff heap.

"We should probably wash those." Shiro said looking at the dirty pile of clothes.

"Have fun with that Mr. Water Bender." Tomo said, wading waist deep into the cold clear water. "Ah! Cold!"

"Okay, let's see if I can do this…" Shiro waded into the water and Calen followed him. Shiro closed his eyes, focusing and he exhaled deeply and sank both hands into the water.

"Ah!"

"Too hot!"

Tomo and Calen jumped away from Shiro as the water nearly came to a boil. Shiro quickly blew on the water and froze the three of them waist deep in frigid, slushy ice.

"Happy medium Shiro!" Tomo yelled.

"Sorry!" Shiro lowered one hand into the water this time and the temperature rose to a nice warm temperature.

"Sheesh. You're not allowed to do that anymore. Next time, we get Nami to do it first." Calen muttered, playfully punching Shiro's shoulder.

"Sorry, I'm still a little new at this."

"Well, in lieu of trying to boil us alive and then freezing off our junk, you get to wash the clothes." Tomo said and he pointed to the pile of clothes.

"You guys suck." He muttered as he walked back to the shore and retrieved his objective and a bar of soap. "I bet Tyshi's good at this. I'm not even really sure what to do…"

"Hmm… I wonder what Tyshi's doing right now…" Tomo gazed off into the distance through the trees in the general direction of where the girls were bathing.

"You pervert!" Calen smacked the back of his head.

"What?! I didn't do anything!"

"I know what you were thinking."

"What, so now _you're_ picturing her naked?" Tomo asked condescendingly.

"No!" Calen was getting worked up. Tomo merely shrugged.

"You have to admit she's hot… with clothes." He added when he caught the glare Calen was sending him. Shiro could tell this wasn't going in a good direction, so he tried to change the subject.

"Hey Calen, what's the deal with you and Tyshi anyways? Are you two dating or what?"

"Huh?" The question caught him off guard, which boded well for avoiding a fight.

"Well, I mean, it just looks like you guys are really close."

"We are close, but we're not dating. She's my best friend."

"But you guys are so close and stuff."

"I don't know. That's just the way it's always been, ever since we were little." Calen shrugged.

"She's so beautiful, I really wish the emperor wasn't a crazy dictator and life was normal, then I'd make her my girlfriend and every guy would be jealous."

"No kidding. I would be jealous, she's really hot."

"I hope you realize you _are_ talking about a _person._" Calen said bitterly.

"A very nice, cute, adorable and sexy person." Tomo said, bobbing his eyebrows and winking at Shiro.

"Tomo…" Calen warned, getting frustrated.

"What? It's true isn't it? Besides, you don't have any right to get jealous, you're not _dating_ her. You even said so yourself."

"No, we're not dating but you're starting to piss me off." He warned.

"Oh no, wouldn't want to make you angry. I wouldn't like you when you're angry, right?" Tomo taunted him. Calen punched him in the jaw with an angry grunt. Tomo reeled back, but quickly recovered and punched him just under the eye. Both boys were preparing for another assault when they were blown back by a strong gust of wind.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Take it easy guys! Can't you two get a long for even ten minutes? Gah, no wonder you drive Tyshi and Juri crazy." Both boys glared at each other and stalked off in different directions to finish their bath.

* * *

The girls walked back to camp, dressed in clean clothes and brushing their wet hair out with their fingers. They all coalesced around the stone table Calen had made earlier and began picking through the supplies for something to eat. Shortly after, the boys joined them, walking back towards camp with no shirts on, ruffling drops of water from their hair with their large, strong hands. Mazuki elbowed Tyshi in the rips as Calen and Tomo walked towards them, bare chests exposed and dripping wet. Tyshi turned away, embarrassed as a blush crept up her cheeks.

"Hey ladies, what's for lunch?" Tomo asked cheerfully, sitting on the table.

"Wow Ty, you look good in purple. Really compliments your eyes." Calen said gesturing to the purple tank top.

"Thanks." Tyshi said shyly and quickly walked around to the other side of the table.

Tomo and Calen grabbed a shirt from the supplies Katoram had picked up. They began repacking the bags and Katoram was just starting to rummage through the stash of food when they heard a strange rumble coming to the east of their camp site. Everyone stopped and tensed, ready for anything as they stared at the spot the strange noise was coming from. Suddenly they saw it. Five large Jeeps were coming at them, each carrying eight fire nation soldiers who were ready for battle.

"Shit!" Katoram yelled. Everyone backed into the center clearing of the campsite.

"Now what?" Mazuki asked, petrified.

"Run for it?" Shiro asked.

"Too late." Nami said solemnly. "We fight."

The fire nation soldiers quickly surrounded them and all hell broke loose. There were volleys of fire everywhere, rocks were sent hurtling, water lashed out, air blasted and a sword slashed through the crowd.

"Tyshi! Follow me!" Mazuki cried, tugging her arm as she stealthily weaved through the chaos towards the abandoned vehicles. "Cover me!" She cried before diving under the nearest Jeep. Their fleeing had attracted some attention and some of the soldiers came to confront Tyshi. She summoned some of her water and lashed out at the soldiers before her. While she was distracted fending off the men in front of her, one man snuck up behind her and locked his strong arms around her torso, trapping her uselessly against his broad chest. She squirmed and struggled, but to no avail so she let out a scream of desperation.

Tomo had been fighting nearby and looked up to see Tyshi trapped by a soldier and more of them moving in. He quickly slashed at the soldier he was currently dueling with and when he fell, he dashed over to help Tyshi.

"Tomo!" She cried and he sprinted towards her. A few of the advancing soldiers paused and turned around to look, but Tomo lowered a shoulder and bashed his way through them without slowing and he made it to where Tyshi was. With his sword in hand, he quickly thrust the end of it into the man's shoulder and he emitted a blood curdling scream and dropped Tyshi and when she hit the ground, she swept her leg around and knocked the man's legs out from under him. Tomo then quickly stopped his head into the ground, rendering him unconscious.

"Thanks." She panted.

"No problem."

Together, they charged the other fire benders, sword and water at the ready. Tyshi shot icicles at all the soldiers and they spread out, pinning them to the ground and Tomo followed up with the hilt of his sword which he brought crashing into the tops of their heads, leaving them stunned or unconscious.

"Stop that bending bitch first!" A fire nation soldier screamed, breaking away from the main group who was attacking the others and alerting a few other soldiers to Tyshi and Tomo.

Streams of fire were shot at Tyshi and she and Tomo ran to take cover behind the nearest Jeep.

"Mazuki! What are you doing?!" She screamed under the car Mazuki had disappeared under.

"Getting us out of this mess!" She screamed back.

"What's going on?!" Tomo yelled to Tyshi.

"I don't know, but we're definitely in trouble now!"

"I can't do anything long range. If you can distract them long enough, maybe I can do something." Tomo said, leaning low behind the back bumper and more fire was sent towards them.

"I'll try, just hurry." Tyshi threw herself out from behind the vehicle and quickly erected a low cylindrical pillar of ice. She swept her hands across the top of it and sent round, flat sheets of ice at the soldiers in front of her. One caught a soldier and he cried out, gripping his bleeding arm. Tyshi spotted Tomo as he started creeping through the crowds that were trying to avoid her frozen attacks. Tyshi was careful to not hit Tomo as he wove between guards, incapacitating them. There were a few remaining guards who finally realized Tomo's presence and Tyshi quickly changed her methods to hold them down while Tomo finished them off. She thrust both hands out in front of her and created a barrage of icicles to trap the few remaining individuals. When Tomo had finished those guards, he ran back to Tyshi.

"Good job." He complimented her.

"Thanks, you too. Let's see how Mazuki's doing." Tyshi panted and ran off to the first Jeep. "Mazuki?" Tyshi called dropping to her knees and peering under. "Where'd she go?"

"Over here!" A muffled voice called from under the third car.

"You're making good progress." Tomo commented, leaning down to check underneath the car.

"Tomo! Look out!" Tyshi screamed as a soldier ran up and was aiming to bring his sword down on Tomo's neck while he was vulnerably crouched. With incredibly quick reflexes, Tomo whipped out his sword, blocked the attack and ducked away, quickly straightening into a fighting stance. Tyshi ran over to the fencing pair as a few more soldiers approached.

* * *

In the clearing, completely surrounded by dozens of soldiers, Juri, Calen, Shiro, Katoram and Nami had circled up, facing outwards and all their attackers. Nami and Katoram swapped fiery attacks with the soldiers, Juri was holding her own with blasts of water and ice, Calen propelled soldiers into the air with rock pillars shot out of the earth or pelted them with a barrage of large rocks and Shiro switched between all those attacks and strong gusts of wind.

After a bit, an official man held up an arm in a halting motion and all attacks from either side halted. The five in the center circle, tensed, ready for anything, or so they thought.

"Ready! Aim!" The captain cried to his soldiers.

"Calen!" Nami screamed, whirling towards him, panicked.

"Fire!" He cried as all the soldiers surrounding them withdrew guns of every caliber and began firing into the small group at the center of the chaos.

"Calen!" Tyshi screamed, watching in horror from a distance. Stone walls were quickly erected, but the rock wasn't very thick. A few minutes into the firing, the wall began to chip away and bullets were beginning to rip through the walls. "Calen!" Tyshi screamed again and covered her mouth in horror, standing frozen watching what was happening a few yards off. There was a loud crack and Tyshi crumpled to the ground. Tomo ran over, sword drawn and killed the man standing over Tyshi with his gun raised.

"Tyshi!" He cried and shook her. She bolted upward and gasped in pain, and put a hand to where the soldier had smashed his pistol into the back of her head.

"I'm okay." She said dismissively, quickly turning her attention back to the severely battered wall. Suddenly the four walls fell away and crushed several of the nearby soldiers. Within the boundaries where the walls had been now stood empty with a large gaping hole. Suddenly a long strip of ground collapsed out from under about ten soldiers and they fell into a makeshift tunnel. Suddenly five benders ran out of the trees from the other side of the camp and attacked the scattered benders.

Mazuki poked her head out from under the fourth Jeep she was working under now. "Tyshi, Tomo, grab the supplies and throw them in the last Jeep and get the others. It's about time we made our grand exit." Tyshi and Tomo ran off to round up the supplies and the rest of their group.

"Juri, Shiro, Calen… Get your ass over here!" Tomo yelled, decking a soldier who turned to look at him as he ran by. The group of five sprinted over and grabbed the remaining supplies that Tyshi hadn't managed to grab yet. The supplies were hastily thrown in the Jeep as everyone piled in and Mazuki started it up. The residual guards chased after them on foot and a few jumped into the remaining vehicles. As they turned the key to start the ignition there was a loud boom and as the escapees turned, they saw that the four remaining Jeeps had exploded into a huge fiery blast.

Tomo turned slack jawed and wide eyed to Mazuki behind the wheel. "Remind me to never piss you off." And he turned his attention back to the fire and chaos.

"I thought… How did you guys…?" Tyshi asked, relieved, hugging her best friend.

"Calen was brilliant!" Juri gushed. "First he put up those walls and he tunneled us out before the bullets really started getting through and he brought us back up on the other side of camp and well, I guess you saw the rest." Nami clapped him proudly on the shoulder.

"Aww, you guys are gonna make me blush. It wasn't really anything much. Just doing what we had to, you know."

"Juri, are you ok? Shiro asked, concerned as he noticed the trickle of blood running down her arm.

"What? You were shot!?" Tomo exclaimed as his sister rolled up her sleeve to reveal where a bullet had grazed her arm.

"It's not that bad, just stings a bit." Juri said, trying to brush it off. "Besides, Nami took a good hit."

"I'm fine."

"Come on Nami, let me see." Calen said, impatiently gesturing towards her.

Nami sighed impatiently and rolled up her black pants to reveal a large round wound in her thigh just above her knee where blood was flowing freely.

"Alright, who else is hurt?" Tyshi asked, pulling out her flask. Shiro raised his hand half heartedly. "Where?" Tyshi asked puzzled, he looked fine to her. He turned around, revealing a large burnt whole in the back of his shirt where the skin was badly burnt.

"Oh Shiro…" Juri cooed, lightly fingering the wound and he winced a little.

"It's not that bad. Tyshi, fix up Juri and Nami first, I'm fine."

Tyshi nodded and started with Nami's bullet wound. Her hand glowed that blue color and the gashed hole started to close and seal on both sides and when it was healed it seemed as if the blood had just appeared from nowhere and there was a shiny pink circle on Nami's leg.

"Better?" She asked when she was done and Nami nodded.

"You're lucky the bullet went through. And that it wasn't one of those special bullets too." Calen speculated, examining Tyshi's handiwork. "Nicely done Ty."

"Juri?" Tyshi asked and Juri moved closer to her, exposing the grazed wound for Tyshi to heal. The deep cut was quickly mended and Tyshi turned her attention to Shiro.

"Um, it might be easier if you took off your shirt. That is, if it won't hurt too much to do so." Tyshi said, examining the scorched skin.

"No problem." Shiro carefully pulled up the back of his shirt, trying to give it a wide berth from the singed skin. "Better?" Shiro asked, turning his back towards Tyshi as the Jeep bounced across a log and the water spilled onto Tyshi's lap and the floor of the car.

"Shoot!"

"Uh-oh, you need more water?" Juri offered her the canteen.

"I think I got it." Tyshi bended the water off her lap and out of the carpeted floor of the car and turned her attention to mending Shiro's back. "All done." She gently patted his back when the burnt skin was replaced with a new shiny pink layer.

"Everyone else ok? Mazuki?"

"I'm okay Tyshi."

"Calen, Katoram, Tomo?"

"Nope."

"I'm good."

"I'm just fine. Are you okay Tyshi?" Calen asked, concerned, looking her over with a critical eye.

"I'm okay."

"How's your head?" Tomo asked, examining her as well.

"It's fine…" She mumbled, looking away, trying not to draw attention to herself.

"What happened to her head?" Calen asked sharply and he caught Tyshi's chin in his strong hand and turned her head from side to side.

"I'm fine." Tyshi said, jerking her head out of his gentle yet firm grasp.

"Some asshole pistol whipped the hell out her head." Tomo said angrily.

"What?! Let me see." Calen stubbornly grasped her chin again and bent her head down so he could see the back of her head. He gently touched his finger tips to the spot she had been hit. "Aw man Ty…" He examined the thick red liquid on his fingers.

"I'm fine." Tyshi said, pulling away stubbornly and sitting cross armed far from Calen.

"Katoram, did you grab a sewing kit?"

"I don't know. Maybe." She shrugged.

"You're not sewing her up in here!" Tomo shouted as the Jeep bounced along the uneven terrain.

"No duh. I was going to wait for when we stopped to set up camp again."

Nami was examining a map in the glove box which was conveniently labeled with all the locations of the fire nations holding cells and prisons. "Well that should only be another fifteen minutes or so." She said, pointing to an open clearing far from any fire nation activity. "Mazuki, head a little more north west."

About fifteen minutes later, the car arrived in the clearing and everyone unloaded the supplies, Katoram started a fire, Mazuki and Juri went to gather water from a river that was about a mile away according to the map and Shiro and Tomo were going to search the woods for firewood and any prospect of fresh meat. Calen dug through the giant duffle bag until he emerged with a sewing and first aid kit.

"This really isn't necessary." Tyshi complained as Calen led her to a stone bench he had bended and made her sit as he examined the wound.

"Quit whining. I'll have you know I'm a rather accomplished seamstress." He teased her lightly. "Besides, a, it's a head wound and b, it's still bleeding. You definitely need stitches."

"I'm not a rip in a pair of jeans." Tyshi muttered dryly.

"You going to do that without any anesthetic?" Nami asked, eyeing the needle and thread skeptically.

"Oh shoot, you're right Nami, I forgot to grab the morphine." Calen said sarcastically. "I don't exactly have much to work with here." He muttered, waving his hand around at the supplies.

"I have an idea!" Katoram yelled as she heaved herself to her feet and started digging through the supplies.

"This can't be good." Calen grumbled sarcastically.

"Shut up!" Katoram cried, emerging with a large bottle of Vodka.

"You're kidding, right?!" Calen yelled.

"You said so yourself, there's not much to work with, so take what you can get."

"Great. You want me to get her _drunk_ and then stick a needle and thread through her head."

"Hell, when you're drunk you don't feel much… until the next day. Trust me."

"Oh, I'm sure you're an expert in this field."

"Ah! Shut up! Katoram, give me the bottle. Let's just get this over with." Tyshi reached out for the large bottle of alcohol and Katoram handed it over with a smug look. Tyshi unscrewed the cap and took a big swig and almost immediately started coughing and hacking. "Oh my god! That shit is nasty! And it's so strong… Uh! How much more do I have to drink?" She held the bottle up and eyed it distastefully.

"At least three or four more sips that big. Besides, the more you drink, the smoother it goes down." Katoram took the bottle and easily sucked down a big swig. "Give it another shot." She offered the bottle back to Tyshi and she took it and closed her eyes shut tightly and chugged and good three or four more swigs. When she was finished, she handed the bottle back to Katoram.

"How do you feel?" Nami asked.

"Gross… woah… my heads starting to spin a little bit…"

"She's ready!" Katoram exclaimed, greeting Calen's disgusted gaze with a smug smile.

"Okay Tyshi, you have to hold still okay?" Calen said, resting a strong hand on her shoulder to steady her.

"Mm-hmm…" Tyshi murmured and held as still as she could as Calen pierced the skin with a needle and the thick thread. After his first stitch, he hesitated.

"How ya doin Ty?" He asked.

"I'm fine." She slurred her words a bit, but didn't seem to mind the needle sewing up the back of her head.

"Well, we have firewood, but that's about it." Shiro announced, walking towards the small group, huddled around the bench.

"That's alright. We have plenty of food anyways." Nami replied.

"Stitching her up Cal?" Shiro asked and Calen grunted, concentrating on his work.

"How's it goin?" Tomo asked, leaning towards Nami.

"Considerably well. Katoram decided to give her some hard liquor and she seems fine."

"Wait… she's… _drunk?!"_ Tomo exclaimed. "_You_ got her _drunk_?!" Tomo shouted towards Calen.

"Shut up. I don't like it either." Calen snapped as he was finishing up. When he was done, he snipped the thread and dug through the first aid kit and found some antibiotic ointment and smeared it lightly across his handiwork. "There, that should do it. How you feeling?"

"I'm good." Tyshi giggled. "I'm more than good." She giggled again.

"Here we go." Nami muttered quietly under her breath.

"I have water!" Juri proclaimed, joining everyone else, Mazuki at her side.

"You missed out on all the fun." Katoram called.

"Oh?" Juri asked.

"Ha! I got Tyshi drunk and she's all stitched up."

"Drunk?" Mazuki asked, surprised.

"Yup." Katoram proudly pat the large bottle of Vodka on the table. "In fact, after a close call like that, I propose a toast!"

"Here here!" Shiro cried enthusiastically.

"To good friends, almost dying and kicking some fire nation ass!" Katoram took a large sip from the bottle and passed it to Nami.

"Cheers." Nami tipped the bottle back and drank deeply. When she was done, she passed the bottle to Mazuki.

"But I'm not twenty one…" she stammered, holding the bottle away from her.

"Who cares?! This is a celebration! And to be perfectly honest, I don't think social norms really apply to the kind of situation we're in." Katoram said merrily and pushed the bottle closer to Mazuki.

"Bottoms up, I guess." She muttered and tipped the bottle back. As Tyshi had done, she almost dropped the bottle and began coughing violently. "Oh gross!" And she quickly passed the bottle to Tomo.

"I'll definitely drink to almost dying and kicking ass." He took a long sip from the bottle and passed it to Shiro.

"Aw what the hell." And he took a long swig from the bottle as well. "Man, that's stronger than I thought…" He passed the bottle to Juri.

"Thanks." Juri took a long sip. "Mm… just as I remember. I needed that. Thanks Katoram."

"No prob." Katoram did a miniature finger salute and smiled.

"Calen?" Juri offered him the bottle.

"Uh… why not. Since everyone else is doing it, might as well, right?" He took a big gulp and Tyshi reached for the bottle. "What do you think you're doing?"

"More?" She asked innocently.

"You've had more than enough."

"Aw, common Calen, let her take one more drink to the toast." Katoram complained.

"Fine, one more, and then you're cut off." Tyshi nodded eagerly and took another big sip.

"I vote we move this party to the fire. Calen, would you mind making a few seats?" Katoram asked as she picked up the bottle and started walking towards the large fire in the center of camp.

Everyone got settled around the fire on long stone benches or individual round stone stool type things and continued passing around the large bottle of Vodka that was still about three quarters full. Everyone drank more expect Shiro and Mazuki who didn't much care for the liquor anyway and by the time the bottle was gone, the dark had moved in, the fire had gotten larger and the group became lively and exciting. By this point, Tyshi, Juri and Katoram were drunk and giggling, Mazuki and Shiro were sober, and Nami, Calen and Tomo knew how to hold their liquor and were thoroughly enjoying the drunk and stumbling girls. Shiro rifled through his pack and withdrew a small wooden flute.

"You know how to play?" Nami asked.

"For the most part." Shiro said and put the flute to his mouth and began to play a fun and bouncing melody.

"I feel like dancing." Juri giggled.

"You sure that's a good idea?" Tomo asked his wobbly legged sister.

"It's fine!" She said dismissively, waving a hand at him as she attempted to stand. "Come on Tyshi! Dance with me!" Juri called and stumbled to where Tyshi was sitting, swaying on her stump and pulled her to her feet.

"Oh! Me too!" Katoram cried and reaching both arms into the air from her seat on the ground.

Juri and Tyshi stumbled to where Katoram was and each one grabbed an arm and hauled her to her feet. After Katoram was standing, Juri stumbled backwards and almost fell into the fire if it weren't for Calen. He quickly jumped up and intercepted her, wrapping an arm around her waist and steadying her.

"You okay?" He asked her.

"I'm okay now." Juri said giggling.

"Ok…" Calen said and sat back down.

Shiro continued playing his flute and the three girls swayed around the fire, dancing, twirling and stumbling all over the place.

"This ought to be good." Mazuki elbowed Calen, laughing at the three drunken, swaying girls.

After a while, Tyshi tripped and fell onto Tomo's lap.

"Woah, are you alright?" He asked concerned.

"I'm okay." Tyshi giggled and rolled so she was facing Tomo. "You know, Mazuki's right… You _are _cute…" She giggled again and lightly poked him on the nose with her finger.

Tomo blushed deeply. "Uh, thanks. You're cute too." He stammered.

"Okay… you're done now." Calen said stiffly and he strode over and picked Tyshi up off of Tomo's lap and walked her over to the stone bench where he was sitting by Mazuki. "Alright, now you sit here next to me."

"Mm-hm… Hehe… Mazuki was right about you too." Tyshi slurred as she swayed and leaned heavily on Calen's side.

"Oh?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, you're hot too." She giggled and leaned her face into Calen's shoulder and hugged him and Calen draped his arm around her shoulder.

"Mazuki…?" Calen asked, an eyebrow raised again looking from Tyshi to her confused.

"What?" Mazuki said, trying to pull off her most innocent look. Tomo and Nami got Juri and Katoram to sit as well, since sitting had proved to be safer so far.

"What is Tyshi talking about?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Mazuki said dismissively.

"She just said you were right and that Tomo was cute and that I'm hot."

"What?! I was merely stating that we were traveling with a good looking group of guys."

"Uh-huh… Well… I say it's bed time."

"Good idea." Nami agreed and she helped Katoram to her feet and off to her shelter. Shiro hauled Juri to her feet and walked her to hers and Calen picked up Tyshi and carried her to hers. The girls fell asleep almost immediately. Mazuki followed Calen as he carried Tyshi to bed.

"You know, I like her better this way."

"You prefer her _drunk_?"

"Well, kinda. She's a lot more honest this way… Plus, she's funny as hell when she's drunk!" Mazuki laughed.

"I guess." Calen smiled. "Well, good night Mazuki. I'm going to go ahead and turn in for the night."

"Okay. Night Calen."

Everyone else decided to bed down too and Nami put out the fire and went to her shelter and fell asleep as well.

* * *

Sorry it took me so long to update, of course, the last month of school they pile on like 20 assignments, papers and tests. Hope you guys liked this chapter, let me know what you think and maybe some suggestions for later chapter? I'd really appreciate your input! ^_^


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Tyshi woke up the next morning with a hangover and she miserably dragged herself to the table in the central camp area. Juri was already sitting there, her head buried in her arms. Tyshi flopped onto the bench on the other side of Juri and cradled her throbbing head in her hands and stared despondently down at the table.

"Good morning ladies!" Tomo exclaimed.

"If you want to keep your limbs intact, I suggest you shut up." Juri grumbled from the table.

"Sorry…" He grumbled and walked away, but managed to trip over a bag and a bunch of dishes, pots and pans and made them clatter loudly across the ground. That was quickly followed by a long and angry stream of curses coming from Katoram's rock tent. Shortly after, a very bedraggled Katoram, her short dark hair sticking out in all directions.

"Damnit Tomo!" She hollered then quickly clutched her head and staggered to the table.

Calen appeared out of the trees with Nami. "Oh, you're awake. Good." He walked over to Tyshi. "Can I talk to you?"

Tyshi groaned. "Can we wait until my head no longer feels like it's about to explode?"

"Sure." Calen walked back towards the stuff and dug until he came up with a bottle of Aspirin and he handed her a few tablets and a stone cup with some water in it. "Was it really so hard to find some Aspirin last night Katoram?" He asked as he took the cup back and handed it to Juri and then Katoram as he handed out more small white tablets.

"Thanks." Juri said.

"No problem."

Shiro showed up and he, Nami, Mazuki and Calen set about making breakfast. At the smell of bacon and eggs, Katoram ran for the bushes and emptied the contents of her stomach.

"Uh… food plus hang over equals vomit-rific…" she moaned and Mazuki offered her some more water.

The three girls managed to eat a little bit of breakfast and everyone else wolfed down their share. After about an hour, the Aspirin started to work and Tyshi, Juri and Katoram started to perk up.

Tyshi, Mazuki and Juri were chatting merrily and Calen approached. "Uh, Tyshi…"

"Oh…" She cast a nervous glance to Juri and Mazuki and they returned a confused look. "Right." She stood slowly and followed him as he turned to walk off into the woods. Tyshi tossed a nervous glance at him and he smiled down at her.

"Don't look so nervous. I just want to talk, ok?"

"What about?"

Calen stopped and checked that they were fairly far from the campsite and he turned to her and smiled again. "I was just curious…" He trailed off shyly. Tyshi balked and stared wide eye, afraid of where this was going. "I was just wondering… did I make you mad or something?" That one caught Tyshi off guard.

"Huh?"

"Well, you were avoiding me yesterday and I was wondering if I did something…" He looked at her with a sad and repentant expression.

"Oh… no. It's not you."

"Oh, good. That's a relief. Oh, and the other thing, what was up with last night?"

Tyshi blushed deeply. "Well… uh… I don't know. I guess we know what kind of drunk I am now, right? A flirty drunk is never a good combo, don't ever let me drink again." Tyshi stammered.

"I think I can manage that. So… why were you avoiding me?"

Tyshi avoided his steady gaze. "Well… When I was bathing with the girls, Mazuki asked me how long we'd been dating…" Tyshi paused and chanced a quick glance at his expression and he seemed surprised so she hurried on quickly. "I explained that we weren't dating and that we were _just_ friends and nothing more. Well then Katoram and Juri chimed in and they said we _acted_ like a couple, how we're so close and everything. You know like when we hold hands and stuff…"

"But that's just… _friend_ stuff…"

"That's what I told them, but they didn't think so, so I was trying to cut back on that kind of stuff you know, because we're just friends, that's all. That's all we've ever been and that's all we'll ever be, right?"

Calen stared at her blankly for a minute. "Right…"

"I mean, I would _never_ like you like that, and you would never like me like that, right?"

"Right."

"So… I was thinking, you know, we just acted how most friends would act, because we _are _just friends, and nothing more."

Calen looked down a minute, his features a bit hard and then he looked up and gave her a tight smile. "Exactly. You're right, I'm sorry. Just friends, that's all. I mean, _us_ dating, ha…" He trailed off awkwardly.

"Yeah… funny, huh?"

"Yeah…"

"So… was that all?"

"Yup. Glad that's all cleared up."

"Should we…" Tyshi motioned back toward camp.

"Oh yeah." Calen started walking stiffly back toward camp and Tyshi lingered a few moments then followed him. They walked back in an awkward silence.

When they got back, they were greeted by the curious stares of everyone else.

"So, how'd it go?" Shiro asked, trying to break the tension.

"Good." Tyshi said quickly, jumping on the opportunity to end the uncomfortable silence. "We got everything cleared up. It's all good now."

"Good." Juri said, forcing a tense smile.

Calen stood there rigidly then said flatly, "I'm going to get more wood." Then we quickly stalked off through the trees. Nami and Juri glanced at the tall stack of firewood by the fire pit and exchanged a look, but let it go, not commenting on the fact.

"I'm going to… go to the lake and… wash dishes." Tyshi finished lamely and quickly picked up a few cups and plates from the table and hurriedly started towards the lake.

"Want some help?" Tomo offered.

"Oh, no. I've got it. Thanks though." Tyshi said and walked off. When she got to the water's edge, she sank onto the soft sand and stared at the soft rippling water as a few tears slid down her cheeks. Frustrated at herself, she angrily wiped them away.

"Uh… Why am I crying?" She was talking to herself now. "This is for the best. I mean we are just friends after all, it's not like anything was going to happen. Good to set the boundary lines so they're clear and there aren't any stupid mistakes or anything like that… It's not like he would've liked me anyways… He even said so himself that it was funny trying to picture us dating and that he would never like me like that anyways…" She broke off as a small sob escaped and more tears ran down her face. "Stop it Tyshi. Pull yourself together. You're acting ridiculous. He's just your best friend and you're not about to ruin that now are you?" She exhaled deeply, closed her eyes and sat silently for a few minutes, clearing her mind and calming herself.

"Okay. Clean yourself up and get back to camp. It doesn't take this long to do dishes." She quickly examined herself in her reflection and rinsed her face with the cool water and it helped to calm her and erase any signs of her dismay. She then quickly checked the dishes she had grabbed and realized they were clean. "Whoops. Oh well. Don't have to wash them now. Probably looked like an idiot though grabbing clean dishes and running away to wash them. Oh well…" She gathered up the plates and cups and walked calmly back to camp.

* * *

Calen had stalked off into the trees bordering one side of their camp by himself, quietly stewing on the conversation they had just had. He repeated it to himself over and over, and each time, it seemed to get worse.

'_We're just _friends_ and nothing more… that's all we'll ever be… it's not like I like you that way or that you like me that way…'_

'_Just friends, nothing more, ever. It's not like I _like_ you.'_

'_I would _never _like you like _that_…'_

'_Ha! Can you imagine us _dating?_ Crazy idea…'_

'_Us dating, that would _never_ happen… I would _never_ like you like _that…'

Calen grunted angrily, stopping and hurling his fist into the closest object which happened to be a rather thick tree. His knuckles met with a resounding crack and there was a stinging pain coming from his hand, but the pain felt good. He needed to work out some anger. He unloaded on the tree, pulling back both fists and slamming them into the rough bark with all the momentum his large biceps could muster. Each hit landed solidly and reverberated throughout the tree, making it quiver and the bark started to chip where his hands were colliding with the tree. Blood started to stain the coarse wood and it was a chunk of time until he stopped. By the time he was satisfied, he was panting, his fists were torn and bleeding and Calen was pretty sure he had either broken or fractured a few knuckles. He slowed his breathing as he examined the damage. The pain had not yet reached him, but he preferred the physical sting and ache compared to the torture his brain had provided earlier.

In control once again, he reached into the earth and when he retrieved his hand, and in it was grasped a stone ax with a sharp blade and he finished desecrating the poor tree as he cut it down and chopped it into reasonably sized logs. He gathered his handy work and mentally prepped himself as he strode back towards camp.

As he entered the campsite, he made eye contact with Tyshi and she smiled at him and he half returned it and quickly turned his attention the wood pile where he deposited his large arm load.

"Nice work Calen." Nami commented.

"Thanks." He replied placidly.

"What happened to your hands?!" Mazuki exclaimed, pointing worriedly and his bloodied hands.

Calen shrugged. "Must've slipped while chopping and ran them into the bark a few times."

"Let me see." Tyshi offered and she walked forward and gingerly grasped both his hands and brought them to eye level to examine. "Oh Calen, these look bad… I'll fix them up for you."

Tyshi summoned some water and set about healing the broken knuckles and torn skin. In no time, the bones had set and the skin was replaced by a shiny pink layer of skin. Calen abruptly pulled his hands from her gentle grasp.

"Thanks." He said absent mindedly and quickly walked away from her.

Tyshi's hands hung limply in midair for a few seconds before she let them fall to her sides. "No problem…" Tyshi bit her quivering lip and fought to hold back a fresh wave of tears.

Juri quickly piped up. "Hey Tyshi, I know you just got back from the lake, but I would love for you to teach me some new bending moves. How does that sound?"

Tyshi nodded and Juri put an arm around her shoulder and they walked back to the lake a ways away from the clearing where the camp was. Once they were gone, Nami stood.

"You. Come here."

"Me?" Tomo asked, eyes wide.

"No, the other idiot." She said and walked to where Calen was a grabbed the front of his shirt and started dragging him into the trees.

* * *

Juri stopped walking as the neared the water. "Hey… everything's fine. There's still time to save this friendship or more." Tyshi stared at the ground and didn't say anything so Juri continued. "I know there's something there that you're not willing to admit."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Tyshi mumbled as her eyes tightened and a tear slid down her cheek.

"There, see, that's what I'm talking about. I know you care about him, to at least _some_ degree. You shouldn't let something Mazuki, Katoram and I said affect your relationship with your best friend. Every since our talk, you've been acting strangely towards Calen and after you two came back… look, it's not good, but you can fix it. Just, be honest with yourself and with him and everything will work out, I promise, okay?"

Tyshi stood still, mulling over what Juri had said and nodded. 'I can't tell him, but at least we can go back to normal… or at least something close to normal…' She thought to herself.

"Okay." Tyshi finally said out loud, looking up for the first time.

"Good." Juri said, looking relieved. "Is there anything you wanted to talk about? Anything at all? I'm good at keeping secrets."

Tyshi shook her head. "No. Thanks though."

"Well, what do you say to some bending, huh?"

"Maybe a little." Tyshi said, forcing a small smile and the two water benders practiced on the shore of the lake.

* * *

Nami stopped suddenly when they were fairly deep in the woods and released Calen's shirt. "I have known you too long to not notice that something's wrong. What's up?" She said, rounding on him. Even though she was a full head shorter than him, she stilled seemed intimidating.

"Nothing. I'm fine."

"Bull shit." She spat furiously. He just gazed at her mildly, calm and expressionless. "I know what you're doing. I know that you like her and you are trying to make her happy by giving her space, but really, you're just hurting her more."

Those words hit home, and Calen scrunched up his face in a pained expression.

"Things are changing too fast I don't know what to do for her. I'm not sure if I can keep my promise. I'm not sure how to protect her anymore. I try to give her what she wants and I still manage to screw that up." Calen looked upset at this point and he leaned feebly against a tree.

"Man up. You just have to be there for her as a friend or as something more. It's your choice." And with these words, Nami turned on her heel and stalked back to camp leaving Calen to sit and contemplate for a while on his own.

It was dark by the time Calen returned to camp and all the girls were asleep and Tomo and Shiro were awake, sitting around a small fire chatting. Calen walked over to sit with them before going to bed himself.

"Nice of you to join us." Shiro said with a small smile and Calen nodded, not saying anything.

"Do you have any idea what upset Tyshi earlier?" Tomo asked and once again, Calen gave a non-verbal response and just shrugged. "She looked so sad. I wish she were mine. Then I could just hold her and she'd cry and I'd tell her everything would be alright, and it would be. _I'd_ never hurt her." He said suggestively staring down Calen, but he ignored the jab and stared into the fire.

"I mean, I'd have eyes only for her and I wouldn't make her _cry._ Hell, I'd do anything she asked me to. All she'd have to do is bat those big blue eyes and I'd just melt. I'd be her personal slave. It'd be neat if it worked the other way too. I caught her checking me out before when I was shirtless." He told Shiro, getting excited. "Then she sat in my lap and told me I was cute. I bet if I flexed for her a little, she'd do anything I asked." Tomo laughed to himself. In one fluid movement, Calen stood from his seat, crossed the space between him and Tomo and punched him in the face.

Calen started stomping away when Tomo tackled him from behind. Calen rolled and when he was facing Tomo, a fist connected with his jaw in a resounding crack. With a grunt, Calen pushed off the ground with his legs while he was on his back and sent Tomo who had been straddling him flying over his head onto the ground. Tomo scrambled around and quickly stood as Calen was getting to his feet and both guys ran at each other fists flying. Tomo slugged Calen in the stomach at the same time when Calen brought his fist up into Tomo's jaw with a quick uppercut. Calen doubled over a little with the blow and Tomo caught his head and brought it down as he swung his knee up to connect with Calen's face. Calen fell to the ground, but he swung his leg around and knocked Tomo's legs out from under him and when he fell Calen jumped on him and the two boys began wrestling and rolling in the dirt, each throwing in more punches.

A cold gush of water drenched both parties and a strong gust of wind separated the two men.

"What is going on?!" They heard Tyshi scream.

"What the hell is wrong with you guys?!" Juri yelled at them.

"Idiots." Nami grumbled crankily.

"Really guys?" Shiro asked exasperated.

"Shiro, what _happened?_" Mazuki asked, hugging herself in the cool night air.

"Actually, I'm not really sure…"

"Tomo! What'd you do?" Juri accused.

"Nothing!" He cried as he wiped the blood from his bleeding lip and nose.

"Calen?" Tyshi asked as she stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Nothing." He said bitterly and stormed off.

"Calen!" Tyshi chased after him as he lengthened his stride and disappeared into the dark night.

"What did you do?!" Juri yelled and smacked him in the back of the head.

"Nothing! I was just _talking._"

Juri sighed. "Well _that _explains that. Come on… Let's get you cleaned up."

* * *

"Calen! Calen stop! Calen, what's wrong?" Tyshi called as she ran after him as he was quickly walking ahead of her. "Calen-" Tyshi was cut off as she tripped over a tree root and fell into his strong back, which she bounced off of. She closed her eyes and braced for her impact with the earth but something caught her waist and pulled her upright. "Thanks…"

"What do you want Tyshi?" He asked, standing stalk still with a strange expression. His face was sculpted into a careful mask, so protected and serious that it scared Tyshi a little bit, and the way he stood, so tall and strong, he looked like he was a coiled snake, ready to spring and dangerous. She shied away a little bit.

"Uh… right… What's wrong Calen?"

"Nothing."

"Calen! That was not nothing!" Tyshi cried, motioning in the direction they'd come from. "You don't get in a knock down drag out fight like that over _nothing_."

Calen continued to stare at her coldly, not saying anything.

"So now we're not talking?" She asked, feeling helpless against the stony man in front of her and his cold unblinking stare.

"I don't know what you want me to say." He replied stiffly.

Tyshi let her head fall into her hands, frustrated and she slumped onto a large rock. She took a few deep breaths to clear her head and calm her nerves. Then she peeked between her fingers and stared up at the strange man that used to be her best friend and who she could talk to about anything. "Calen…" She started, feeling the anguish rising to the surface again and choking off the rest of her sentence. A few tears dribbled down her cheeks and she hastily whipped them away. Calen's composure started to crumble as he watched Tyshi quietly cry on the rock, he felt guilt gnawing at his very soul and he took a few steps towards his crying friend and reached out to touch her shoulder, but hesitated.

"Calen," She started again, trying to regain her poise, "can we start over? You know, pretend I never opened my stupid big mouth and ruined everything between us. Can we go back to the way things were? I can stand the way it is now…" More tears streamed down her face and she dropped her face back into her hands to avoid his gaze.

"Oh Ty…" Calen bended the ground to form a longer seat leading off the rock Tyshi was currently sitting on and he sat down and pulled his crying friend over and hugged her tightly as she cried into his chest. "Of course we can go back to the way things are. Ty… I missed you… I'm so sorry I hurt you, you don't deserve that. I was such a jack ass and if I were you, I wouldn't forgive me."

"It's okay, it never happened, remember?" She asked, smiling at him with moist eyes and he whipped away the remaining tears.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He smiled down at her and kissed the top of her head.

They sat quietly for a while enjoying each others close proximity. Tyshi left her head leaning against Calen's shoulder and he left one arm draped over her shoulders.

"Did you know that when you're angry and serious like a little while ago, you're really scary looking. I was actually a little afraid of you." Tyshi said and Calen's face tightened for a minute.

"I'm sorry. That was a part of me that I never wanted to show you. You know that I'd never hurt you, right? Well… at least never again I won't. Hey." Calen let his arm drop and pulled away from her and grasped her hands and stared into her eyes, serious again. "I will never, ever hurt you again, okay? I promise. You know how I don't like to break my promises… even though I did… So I'm making you a new one, right here, right now. I Calen, will never again hurt you Tyshi or let any harm come to you ever again." Calen vowed, holding up his hand and everything.

"Okay, I believe you, cut it out you dork." Tyshi grabbed the hand he had raised from his vow and tried to pull it down.

"Dork huh? That's not very nice. Just because of that, I think I'll keep it up." He kept his hand raised despite Tyshi's attempt to pull his arm down. Tyshi gave up as something else popped into her mind.

"So what was that all about anyways?" She asked, gently prodding the dark spots on his face that were already starting to bruise and the flecks of dried blood near his nose.

"I already told you, nothing."

"And like I already told you, no one gets in that kind of fight over nothing."

"Tomo's an idiot with too big of an ego, so I decided he needed to be knocked down a peg."

"So you started it? I guess I shouldn't sound so surprised…" Calen just shrugged. "So what exactly did he say?"

"I don't know."

"Liar."

"Don't worry about it."

"But now I'm curious. What'd he do to piss you off?"

"Just being a stupid jack ass."

"How?"

"Damn it Tyshi, does it really matter?"

"I don't know why you won't tell me."

"Uh… he was talking about how he could get any girl he wanted and making it sound like you two were practically dating and how he was convinced that he could get you to do anything he wanted if he just flexed a little."

"Seriously?"

"Pompous idiot jack ass, right?"

"A little. But he is pretty cute though."

Calen gave her a disgusted grimace. "What?"

"Oh don't flip out, he's not my type. Just try to play nice with the other kids from now on, okay?"

"I'll try."

"Good." She stood. "Now it's cold and I'm tired because two idiots woke me up. Let's go back to camp."

"Alright." Calen reached up so Tyshi could pull him to his feet.

"I don't know if I can lift your fat ass." Tyshi teased him.

"Not fat, toned and firm." Calen amended teasingly.

"Ew… too much information." Tyshi said as she hauled Calen to his feet.

They walked back to camp where everyone else had gone back to bed and parted ways and settled down, happy that things had gone mostly back to normal.

* * *

Hey guys, it's SarahPlainntall, sorry it took me so long to update, but next week is finals week and professors think it's a good idea that the last month they should assign tons of homework, tests and papers. I'm kind of stuck as what to do next, and I would love to write what you want to read, so send me a comment with your ideas. If you write me something, I WILL include it and I hoped you enjoyed this overly dramatic super sappy chapter.

OH! I almost forgot, thank you too Ayala Atreides, just think of this as a modern day map and the avatar world migrated and spread out and I'm just concentrating on what's going on in Japan. Thanks to the Jew for your comments and funny criticism and Darkladykikyo for your kind comment. Lastly, Graystar1, you completely made my day when you added me to your favorite authors and stories and I am absolutely thrilled that you enjoyed the last chapter. Thank you so much to the fans that let me know how you feel! Don't forget to comment with your new ideas for the next chapter!


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Nami was the first one up the next morning and when Calen woke up and joined her, she was fiddling with her phone.

"What's up Nami?"

"I have a contact in a town about nine miles away and she has some information on where more prison camps are."

"Really? So, what's the plan el Capitan?"

"I have a general idea, but I'm not sure. Let's wait for everyone else to wake up and we'll see what to do from there."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll start on breakfast." Calen said and he started rummaging through the supplies for some pans, eggs and bacon. "Little help?" He asked, motioning towards the fire pit.

"Sure."

"Thanks." She just nodded and sat at the table and quickly became deeply absorbed in thought. As Calen started to fry up the bacon, Shiro, Juri and Tyshi emerged from their beds.

"Mm… smells good Cal." Tyshi commented, rubbing her eyes.

"Need any help?" Juri offered.

"I'm good, thanks though."

Shiro was quiet as he rummaged for a towel and some shower supplies and wandered tiredly off towards the lake. Shiro was back in time for breakfast and Juri went to wake Tomo, Tyshi woke Mazuki and Calen took the plate of bacon to Katoram's "room".

"Wakey-wakey! Eggs and bakey!" He sing-songed to her and her reply was an angry grunt. Then the smell of bacon wafted to her and she sat up quickly, smacking her head on the stone ceiling which was quickly followed by an angry stream of curses. Calen suppressed a laugh and walked back to the table with the bacon and everyone dug in and ate their breakfast ravenously. When everyone was mostly done, Nami cleared her throat.

"I have an informant who works in a restaurant not too far from here and she has some information on more prison camps. I would suggest taking the Jeep, but that's too fire nation and it's almost out of gas. I've been thinking and obviously I can't go because I'm supposed to be dead, Shiro can't go because we can't risk the Avatar, but Mazuki and Tyshi can go."

Tyshi, Mazuki, Juri, Katoram, Tomo and Calen all raised their eyebrows questioningly and there was a loud outburst of half finished questions that all streamed together.

"Why?... No fair… Why not me?... If she's going, I'm going too… Why don't I get to…" Nami held up her hand and silenced them.

"I'm not done yet. Mazuki knows cars so she can make it look like they're stranded on the side of the road. Two girls seems innocent, three seems like a little much, and you two can get all dressed up and draw in a couple of suckers and once their busy looking under the hood, Tomo and Calen can take them out and you guys can go to town in their vehicle. Of course, you'd have to get rid of the evidence." Nami gave a meaningful look at Calen and he nodded. "Once in town, you can inconspicuously go to the restaurant and get the information. Hey, think of it as a double date." Nami added with a wry smile. "Once we get that information, we can continue with our work.

"Cool. So they get to do all the work and I get to sit back and relax." Katoram said with a content sigh and she stretched back in her seat.

"Not fair…" Shiro muttered, scuffing his shoe in the dirt.

"Double date huh?" Tomo said excitedly and winked at Tyshi.

"It seems to be all for the best I suppose…" Juri said. "I can get Mazuki and Tyshi ready. I think I know exactly what I'm going to do." She put a hand to her chin and she eyed Tyshi and Mazuki thoughtfully. "Of course," she turned her attention to Calen and Tomo, "you too will have to clean up and put something nice on. If these two are going to look nice, you guys have to at least look _presentable._" She nodded to herself and then motioned for Tyshi and Mazuki to follow her. She dug through her pack and withdrew some makeup and a few other items and then motioned once more for them to follow her further off into the woods.

Calen and Tomo walked off with shower supplies in hand to clean up at the lake. After a while they came back to camp. Calen was clean shaven and dressed in a tight black shirt that accentuated his well toned body and a pair of jeans. Tomo had his black hair spiked and he wore a gray wife beater which emphasized his toned and well tanned arms and khaki pants. Nami nodded in approval and Katoram jokingly wolf-whistled at them and they waited around for Juri to finish with Tyshi and Mazuki.

"Drum roll please." Juri announced, appearing out of the woods first. "I present to you… the boy bait. Come on out Tyshi, Mazuki." She waved a hand, beckoning them forward. Mazuki came out first, her hair loosely draped around her shoulders and she looked adorable in a snug sun dress that emphasized her curvy figure.

"Nice." Shiro said appreciatively and Tomo nodded and Calen gave her thumbs up.

"Tyshi?" Juri called.

"I can't believe I'm wearing this…" She mumbled before she stepped out from behind a tree. Calen and Tomo's jaw dropped instantaneously as Tyshi emerged, her long hair curled and wearing a very tight tank top that showed quite a bit of cleavage and stopped just above her belly button and wearing short jean shorts that showed off her long, slender and shapely legs.

"Wow…" Tomo muttered and Calen cleared his throat and quickly tore his eyes away.

"Nice job Juri!" Katoram congratulated and high fived her.

"Thank you, thank you." Juri curtsied playfully.

"Ready?" Nami asked the group. The four of them nodded and Calen got in the driver's seat of the Jeep and the girls piled in the back and Tomo took the front seat and they headed off for the road. Once they got there, they pulled off onto the shoulder and the boys ran down the road a bit after deciding on signals as to when a good opportunity would drive along. Mazuki quickly opened the hood and after a few minutes, she managed to get the engine smoking and she hastily shut the hood once more and leaned against the side of the car closest to the road next to Tyshi.

"Nicely done." Tyshi complimented her.

"It's not hard to destroy cars, just to fix them."

Just shy of a half hour later, Tomo appeared briefly down the road a ways and waved abruptly and then ducked back into the thick foliage.

"Here goes nothing." Tyshi muttered and stepped out onto the road and when a small sporty white car came around the corner, she waved her arms above her head with a distressed look on her pretty face. The car slowed and pulled up behind the Jeep.

"What's the problem ladies?" A blonde man around there age asked, cocking an eyebrow and appraising the appearance of both Tyshi and Mazuki.

Tyshi pulled out her sweetest and most anguished voice. "Our car broke down. We're stranded and my phone died and we have no idea what to do now. We've just been waiting around, hoping some kind stranger would come by and help us. Do you know anything about cars? If you could fix it, I'd owe you one." Tyshi winked seductively at the blonde man and he gulped, a huge grin plastering his face.

"Oh, sure, no problem. This should be an easy fix. My buddy and I know _all_ about cars."

Mazuki walked up to the passenger side and leaned towards the other man through the window, exposing some appealing flesh. "Really? Oh, that'd be so great! You guys are the best!"

The two men stepped out of the car and walked up to the front of the lightly smoking Jeep, being led by Mazuki and Tyshi.

"Here, I'll get the hood. It can be a little tricky at times." Tyshi offered and she reached down to unlatch the hood and jerked on it a few times, making her chest bounce suggestively before the hood finally gave way and opened.

"Let's take a look and see if we can get you pretty ladies back on the road." The second man said and he leaned into the engine compartment and started tinkering around under the hood with the help of the blonde man.

"Oh thank you so much!" Mazuki exclaimed, flouncing in exaggerated glee. Both men were thoroughly absorbed under the hood when Calen and Tomo appeared behind them and quickly knocked them out with sturdy blows to the head. The men collapsed unconscious and the boys piled them into the Jeep and Calen created a deep pit and lowered the car into it and covered it again with a thin layer of stone, leaving a small gap for air.

"Nicely done ladies." Calen commented once his work was done.

"I know, we're just _that_ good." Mazuki teased boastfully and Tyshi laughed.

"Shall we?" Tomo asked, motioning towards the small white sport car.

"We shall." Mazuki said and she stepped towards the car and Tomo and Calen held the door open for the girls and everyone piled into the car and set off down the road towards the little town Nami had told them about earlier. The girls were sitting in the back, Calen was driving once more and Tomo sat next to him in the passenger seat.

"So… This is supposed to be like a double date thing, right?" Mazuki asked.

"Um, I guess." Tyshi said.

"Well, it that case, I call Tyshi as my date!" Tomo called.

"Yeah! That means I get Calen as my date!" Mazuki cried.

Calen caught Tyshi's eye in the review mirror and he gave her a pleading look to which she just shrugged at and then laughed. Everyone was in a good mood by the time they reached the town and everyone piled out.

"Come here date." Tyshi said jokingly and pulled Tomo next to her.

"Let's go Calen!" Mazuki cried excitedly as she wound her arm around his and began pulling him down the sidewalk and Tyshi laughed as Calen cast her yet another pleading glance.

"Come on Tomo, we can't let Mazuki leave us behind." And she tugged on his arm lightly and he willingly followed her past the little shops that lined the road.

"Is that it?" Tomo asked, pointing to a quaint little restaurant called The Lunch Box.

"I think that's the one Nami told us. What was the code word we were supposed to say again?"

"Tsunami." Tyshi said.

"Oh yeah… Well, okay then. Er, come on, uh, _date_." Calen said unsurely as he and Mazuki walked through the front door, Tomo and Tyshi following closely after. Calen walked up to the lady at the cash register. "Ummm… I'll take a number three with a large drink and she'll have…"

"A number six with a large drink too." Mazuki finished, hugging him closely with one arm around his waist.

"So… uh… Mazuki, I had this weird dream last night that Japan was going to get hit by a _tsunami_… don't think that'll actually happen, right? Not like a weird premonition thing right, getting hit by a _tsunami_, that'd be weird, huh?" He asked the red haired woman behind the register lamely and she gave him the strangest look.

"Uh… I'm sure we'll be fine sir… did you want any fries with your burger?"

"Oh, um, yeah, thanks." Calen stammered lamely, blushing slightly. Tyshi and Mazuki stifled giggles as the red haired woman went to get their drinks. A short brunette took over the register and after Calen paid, the woman handed him a receipt and a small folded piece of paper.

"I'm sure a _tsunami _won't be a problem for you." She winked and walked off into the back again. Calen stood there dumbly holding the receipt and paper and Mazuki had to push him out of the way so other people behind him could order. Tyshi and Tomo ordered there food and once they got it and paid, they sat at a table with Calen and Mazuki.

"I feel like an idiot…" Calen muttered and he carefully tucked the folded piece of paper away.

"That's because you _are_ an idiot." Tyshi teased.

"That lady must've thought you were completely crazy." Tomo laughed.

"Way to take one for the team." Mazuki encouraged, squeezing his arm reassuringly.

"At least _someone's_ supportive…" He mumbled as he picked up his burger and bit into it bitterly. The rest of the meal passed uneventfully as they all joked and ate in relative peace.

"Huh…" Mazuki said, staring at a table of giggly girls not far from them.

"What?" Tyshi asked, unsurely, following her gaze.

"Those girls over there are checking out our men." She said irritated.

"Really?" Tomo asked with a mix of confusion and egotism. "Too bad we're already taken, huh Calen?" He winked at Tyshi and draped an arm around her.

"Yeah, what a shame." And Mazuki elbowed him lightly in the ribs.

"Guess we have to mark our territory, huh Tyshi?" Mazuki said, bobbing her eyebrows.

"What?" Tyshi asked slightly alarmed.

"Well, I mean, we should at least _thank_ our dates, right?" And before anyone caught her drift, she quickly grabbed the back of Calen's head and pulled him down and kissed him heavily on the lips and it was a long moment until she let him go. A pink hue lightly lit Calen's cheeks for a moment before he cleared his throat.

"You're welcome…" He mumbled, clearly abashed. Mazuki quickly checked the table of girls again.

"There, that shut them up." She turned her attention to Tyshi. "Your turn!"

"Oh… uh, thanks Tomo for lunch." And she quickly pecked him on the lips.

"What was that?" Mazuki demanded. "That's how you kiss your _grandmother!_ Try again."

"Mazuki…" Tyshi started, but Mazuki crossed her arms stubbornly across her chest and fixed a hard gaze on Tyshi. "Fine! Come here Tomo." She hastily grabbed Tomo's neck and brought his mouth violently against hers and kissed him passionately, only letting him go after a few moments.

"Better?" Tyshi asked crossly.

"Much…" Tomo murmured dazedly. Mazuki giggled at this and Calen sat back in the booth with a hard look on his face.

"Shall we go?" Mazuki asked cheerfully.

"Please." Calen said as he slid out of the booth and held his hand out to help Mazuki out.

"Oh! As long as we're here, can we walk around for a little bit?" Tyshi asked excitedly.

"Fine, but not too long, ok?" Calen said.

"Thank you!" Tyshi and Mazuki cried in unison. Both girls walked with their _dates_ along the line of shops, occasionally walking inside to look at the things for sale. A few times, men would whistle at the girls and Calen and Tomo would protectively wrap a strong arm around their shoulders and send a hard glare in their directions.

The four of them were having a real good time and were really enjoying themselves when they happened across a shop that sold TVs and had a bunch in the front window tuned to the news. All the news stations were focusing on the same anchor woman and they all stopped and watch curiously.

"…very exciting news indeed. Now here's the emperor himself to discuss his new plan of action." The image switched over to the emperor of Japan, a weasely looking man with an arrogant air of confidence and dressed very regally. His beady eyes swept across the screen and he started talking pompously to the cameras.

"Yes, as many of you know, Japan is experiencing a new dawn. Our lands have become peaceful with all the bending miscreants behind bars. No more trouble makers exist to bother or thieve from my honest citizens with their cheap magic trickery of manipulating earth, air, fire and water. Only the most trustworthy fire benders have offered their loyalty and servitude to our great nation and help to patrol against the feral mistakes of our precious land." Tyshi and Calen exchanged disgusted looks with each other and listened more intently.

"Unfortunately, our land has been plagued with a renegade group of criminals, young benders if you will, who are thought to be traveling with the Avatar, no doubt the leader of this dangerous band of unlawful crooks. Anyways, these dangerous individuals have been traveling the country, breaking into our prisons and freeing dangerous individuals who have proved themselves to be dangerous to our nation and its innocent citizens. It is believed that there are eight of these dangerous people traveling together and to be wary of them. If spotted, immediately contact your closest source of authority." The four of them exchanged wary glances tainted with worry.

"However, aside from this minor setback, for I have put everyone of my available outstanding men and women on this case, doubling guards and security at all the remaining prisons, I'm proud to announce my new plan of action. I've decided that our peaceful way of life is too splendid to not share with the rest of the world!" There was much cheering coming from the background and Mazuki, Tomo, Calen and Tyshi all exchanged grave looks, the color draining from their faces.

"My first plan of action is to invade China and enforce our grandeur and idealist way of life by imprisoning all benders! Then I shall move on to the rest of Asia, then to conquer Europe and eventually North and South America! Then I shall move on to Africa and even Australia! The world shall become a peaceful place, free from criminals that abuse their genetic flaws, I shall scourge the planet of this bending disease and the world will be a better place!" At this, the emperor ended his speech and there was much rejoicing in the background and each TV set flicked back to its own individual news reporters who were discussing the emperor's speech excitedly.

Calen looked very serious. "We have to go now and warn the others; tell them what we just learned." He held up the little slip of paper. "This will have to wait till later. I think we have bigger problems right now." They all ducked their heads and walked quickly and silently back to the car and Calen started it and they drove back down the winding deserted road. A few miles from where they were supposed to pull off, a police car blocked the road and a cop stepped out and raised a hand to get them to stop. The color drained from Tyshi's face abruptly and the silence in the car turned even more ominous.

"Calen…?"

"Stay calm." He ordered and his knuckles whitened on the wheel and his grip tightened. He pulled up to where the cop was standing and rolled down the window, his composure regained. "Is there a problem officer?" He asked, his tone remarkably calm.

"Well, sort of." The cop started and he leaned down into the window to talk to Calen. There's something strange happening on this stretch of road. We're stopping everyone to warn them that it appears there are some dangerous individuals somewhere in this general vicinity. Two men have gone missing and their car was reported stolen."

Calen widened his eyes in mock shock. "Oh my…"

"No need to worry… except…" His eyes narrowed suspiciously and Calen kept his gaze steady. "Strange… this car seems to match the description of the one reported stolen… Sir, will you please step out of the car?" The police officer looked suspiciously around the car. "Will the rest of you please step out too?"

Tyshi could see Calen's muscles twitch and a vein throbbing in the back of Tomo's neck. The girls slowly opened their doors, as did the boys and everyone stepped out cautiously.

"You don't have any dangerous weapons I need to know about?" The officer asked routinely.

"No sir." Calen answered sternly.

The cop appraised Tyshi and Mazuki carefully, a slight smirk forming on his lips. "Wait here, all of you." The officer cast a weary glance at the four of them as he paced back to his car and spoke quickly with his partner. After a few moments, the first cop looked up sharply and then walked back, straightening up to full height, which was still shorter than Tomo and Calen, but it didn't bode well for them.

The officer straightened once more and put his hand threateningly on his gun holster. "It appears that this car _perfectly_ matches the one stolen. Same license plate and everything. I'm afraid you're all under arrest." With this, he grabbed Tyshi's arm and pressed her against the hood of the cop car. He grabbed her right hand and placed a handcuff securely around her wrist and he pushed her tightly against the hood, something hard pressed into her thigh and Tyshi began to struggle. When she began to try to wriggle out from his grip, he put his whole weight into suppressing her and completely encompassed her with his body against the hood of the police car.

Suddenly Calen lunged at the man, tackling him to the ground and catching him in a choke hold. The downed officer shot a stream of fire at Tyshi which struck her dead on, severely burning her left arm and she cried out in pain.

"He's a fire bender!" Tomo cried as both he and Mazuki moved to help Tyshi. The second cop ran from their car and caught Mazuki around the throat with a broad hand and with excessive force, slammed her back and down, smashing her head against the bumper of the car they had stolen and then into the cement road with a thud and a sickening crack. Mazuki shrieked in agony and Tomo quickly dove on the second cop, and smashed his head into the ground until he no longer moved. Once the man Calen was strangling had stopped struggling and passed out he quickly stood.

"Oh no…" Calen mumbled as he checked Tyshi's arm that was brutally burnt.

"This isn't good Calen!" Tomo shouted as he hovered hesitantly over Mazuki.

"What…?" Calen quickly kneeled next to Mazuki. She wasn't moving and there was a large amount of blood seeping out from under her head. "Shit… Let's get her out of the middle of the road." He very carefully scooped her up and placed her at the side of the road and examined her head wound. "Damn it! She's hemorrhaging and she's fractured the skull plate… I have to, operate." He said for lack of a better word. "I have to relieve some of the pressure, it looks like it's bleeding internally and if I let that go on too long, there could be some serious permanent damage."

"HEY!" There was an angry shout from across the road. More police cars had shown up and angry officers and soldiers were piling out of the car and quickly approaching the group.

"No!" Calen glanced around desperately from the soldiers, to Mazuki back to Tyshi and Tomo and made a split second decision. "Run!" He yelled at Tyshi and Tomo.

"What?" Tyshi yelled, panicked.

"Run! NOW! I'll meet up with you later!" Calen screamed at her and quickly erected a stone fortress around himself and Mazuki. Calen couldn't risk moving Mazuki when she was in such a critical condition. They were engulfed in darkness and Calen rifled through his pockets and found a flashlight. He turned it on just as the banging began on the stone walls surrounding him. "Hold on Mazuki." He whispered and got to work.

He dug in his pocket once more and withdrew a sharp pocket knife and undecidedly sliced a gash into the top of her head and she moaned slightly. "I'm sorry Mazuki…" He mumbled regretfully as more blood oozed out of the deep gash. "So much blood…" Calen looked around for something to soak up all the blood with, but couldn't find anything so he hastily removed his shirt and wiped her face clean.

"No! It's bleeding under the skull plate too! Mazuki, you've got to hang in there for me, okay? Promise?" He took the knife once more and carefully dug into the spongy skull plate and sweat beaded on his forehead in concentration. "Damn it… there's a blood clot." He cursed his luck and very carefully so as not to damage her brain, he removed the large bloody mass of tissue. "Good thing you're out for this girl…" Calen moaned regretfully as he mopped up more blood. He replaced the small hunk of skull plate and bended some dirt into a hard, sharp stone needle and pulled a loose string from the bloodied shirt that was now serving as a pillow for Mazuki. He threaded the needle and began to stitch Mazuki back together.

"Oh god… look at you… this is all my fault." Calen scolded himself and carefully wrapped the shirt around the unconscious Mazuki's head and cradled her in his arms and stood up within his stone barrier. He flicked the wrist the was supporting Mazuki's legs and the stone walls fell away and crushed the soldiers who were still pounding on it. Calen walked through the rubble and broken bodies and carried Mazuki through the forest towards what he thought was their campsite.

"Run!" Calen screamed at Tyshi. Tomo gripped her good arms hand and quickly pulled her through the trees as stone walls shot up around Calen and Mazuki. Some of the soldiers had stopped to try to get into the fortress Calen had created, but the rest were in hot pursuit of Tomo and Tyshi as they dashed madly through the trees.

Tomo and Tyshi had started to pull ahead, weaving between the thick forests when streams of fire started to fly all around them. Fortunately, their aim was poor and never reached its intended target. Once they were starting to lose sight of the men chasing them, Tomo tackled Tyshi to the ground and quickly pushed her under a thick growth of ferns and shielded her body with hers and shushed her. A few moments later, the soldiers that had been pursuing them dashed past their hiding spot, mere inches from where they hid. The men ran on, totally oblivious to the fact that their target was so near.

Tyshi and Tomo held completely still, neither dared to move or even breathe for several minutes. Tomo shifted cautiously and cast a weary glance around and saw nothing. Tyshi shifted, her burnt arm had been crushed beneath her and ground into the damp dirt beneath her and had been hurting excruciatingly bad for the past few minutes. Once that problem was alleviated, she leaned her head on Tomo's chest, the last of her nerves completely spent. The next thing she knew, she was sobbing hopelessly into his chest and he wrapped strong, soothing arms around her as she wept.

Neither knew how long they had been there, but by the time Tyshi had managed to calm down again, Tomo's shirt was fairly soaked. He rubbed his hand up and down her back soothingly until she pulled away.

"I'm okay now." She whispered, wiping away the last trace of her tears and she crawled out of their precarious shelter and stood, brushing herself off, carefully avoiding her dirt encrusted wound.

"Let's go back." Tomo said quietly and Tyshi nodded. "I see some smoke over there." He pointed into the distance where the slightest trace of smoke curled into the sky where it became almost invisible. Tomo led the way and Tyshi tagged along tiredly and they walked towards the camp in silence.

After walking for a while, Calen spotted some smoke twisting almost imperceptibly into the sky and he headed for that.

"Hang in there Mazuki… not much longer, and then I can get you really fixed up." After walking for another half hour, Calen came across a small and primitive town.

"Oh my god! What happened to her?" A woman shouted as she ran up to Calen who was still carrying the unconscious Mazuki.

"Fire benders. Is there a doctor in this town?"

"My husband. Right this way. Poor dear, we'll get her fixed up." Calen nodded as the kind older woman led the way to one of the small brick houses on the edge of the village and she held the door open for Calen and Mazuki. "Seiji, we need your expertise. We have a young man and a young lady here with a very bad head wound." She called into the depths of the small office and then turned her attention to Calen. "Place her on that bed over there." And she gestured towards a single bed next to a desk covered in papers and a large cabinet filled with bottles of medicine and other medical supplies.

"Thank you so much." Calen said tiredly as he carefully set Mazuki down just as an older man with gray streaks in his dark hair emerged from the room next door.

"Hello there son, my names Seiji." He offered a hand and Calen shook it.

"I'm Calen and this is Mazuki." He said, motioning towards the unconscious girl on the bed.

"Nice to meet you. Now what's wrong with this young lady?"

Calen sighed. "It's all my fault. Fire benders. They slammed her head into the concrete. She started hemorrhaging and she had a fractured skull plate. I relieved some of the pressure and removed a blood clot and stitched her back up." Calen explained and the doctor looked surprisingly impressed.

"Well then, I'll take a look and see if there's any more I can do for her." The doctor snapped on a pair of rubber gloves and removed the bloodied black t-shirt while Calen hovered protectively near Mazuki. The doctor looked him over once more then called to his wife that had been standing idly in the door way. "Chiyoko, why don't you help Calen here get cleaned up and get him a shirt please?"

"Certainly." Chiyoko motioned for Calen to follow her.

"Actually, if you don't mind, I'd rather stay here with Mazuki."

"Of course." The woman smiled kindly and left and shortly returned with a damp towel and a clean shirt.

"Thank you. You're very kind." Calen gave her a haggard smile and scrubbed the dried blood off of him with the towel then pulled the new shirt over his bare torso.

After a few minutes of examining Mazuki's wound, the doctor turned back to Calen. "I'm very impressed by the job you've done. Not much more I can do here though. Chiyoko can do a quick healing session to repair the blood vessel damage and seal the skull plate, I can put on an antibiotic cream and give her a fresh bandage, but it looks like she should be fine and should make a rather fast recovery." The doctor said as he pulled off his gloves with a snap and riffled through his medicine cabinet and removed a small brown bottle and a syringe. "The last thing I'm going to do is give her a mild sedative and pain killer." He inserted the needle into the cap of the bottle and pulled a small amount of clear liquid into the syringe and he stuck it in Mazuki's arm and administered the drug.

"Thank you." Calen murmured, never removing his eyes from Mazuki's still figure.

"Here." The doctor offered Calen a small chair and placed it next to the bed where Calen could sit comfortably and hold Mazuki's hand while Chiyoko used some water to perform a healing session on Mazuki.

"It's lucky you found us. We've been off the grid for a few decades now, ever since the emperor took over. Our little village has gone unnoticed and the families comprised of benders have been living here peacefully. We've even recently gotten some of our family back lately." Calen glanced up at her as she looked at him knowingly. "I recognized you as soon as you walked in. My nephew has returned thanks to you and your friend's brave work and we owe you so much for it."

Calen smiled at her mildly. "I don't know what you're talking about."

The woman just nodded and focused on her work. When she was done, she straightened and fetched her husband once more. Seiji examined Mazuki one last time and applied a thick white antibiotic cream before thoroughly bandaging her head and fetching a blanket for her.

"That should just about do it. It's getting late though. Why don't you two stay here and you can leave in the morning. My wife is currently preparing a large meal and she's packed a saddle bag for our horse. I expect you to use it, she shouldn't be straining herself for the next several days."

"That is incredibly generous of you." Calen said gratefully.

"It's the least we could do." The doctor said and he winked at Calen and Calen quickly turned his attention back to Mazuki who was finally resting peacefully.

Tomo and Tyshi arrived on the border of a small village where a young boy was busy carrying a large pail of water.

"This isn't our camp…" Tomo muttered, watching the boy.

"Excuse me…" Tyshi called to him. The boy dropped the pail, startled and Tyshi bended the water back into it and helped him pick it up again. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's okay… Who are you and how did you find us?"

"My names Tyshi and this is Tomo." Tyshi gestured towards both of them. "We were looking for our camp, but we found this village instead. Let me ask you, you haven't happened to see another stranger, have you? A tall man with brown hair and a girl who's been hurt?"

"Well, _I _haven't seen anyone, but there's a rumor going around that there's two people at doc's hospital."

"Really?" Tyshi's face perked up. "Could you show me where they are?"

"Okay!" The young boy eagerly grabbed Tyshi's hand and started running towards a small house on the other edge of town and Tomo followed them.

As they neared the house, an older woman was walking out the door and the boy stopped abruptly. "Chiyoko! Look who I found!"

"Oh my…" The woman approached Tyshi and held out her hand to her and then to Tomo as he joined Tyshi. "Hello, my name is Chiyoko."

"Hi, I'm Tyshi." She said, shaking her hand.

"Tomo." He shook his hand as well.

"You two look like you've been through a hard time recently."

"How could you tell?" Tomo said dryly and he pulled a few sticks out of his hair and brushed more dirt from his shirt.

The woman smiled kindly. "By chance, are you looking for a couple friends?"

"Yes!" Tyshi exclaimed, hope lighting her face.

"Right this way." The woman replied and shuffled back into the house, closely followed by Tomo and Tyshi. As they rounded a corner, Tyshi spotted Calen sitting by a bed, holding an unconscious Mazuki's hand.

"Calen!" Tyshi cried, relieved to find him and Mazuki well and for the most part, intact.

Calen quickly brought a finger to his lips and gently let go of Mazuki's hand. "Good, you're alright." He gave her a weary smile and the three of them walked into an adjacent room to talk without disturbing Mazuki.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Tyshi asked, eagerly searching his grim expression.

"Well, you saw what they did to her." He spat bitterly. "Then I had to perform a little… 'operation'. After that, I got rid of the benders and started walking and found this village and Dr. Seiji took over and Mazuki should be okay now." For the first time, Calen actually took in the appearance of both Tyshi and Shiro. "Wow… you two look bad. What happened to you?"

"We ran and they followed. Then I pulled Tyshi into some thick ferns and they ran past us, after it was clear, we searched for camp and now we're here." Tomo quickly explained.

"Thanks for taking care of her Tomo; I knew I could count on you."

Tyshi looked indignant. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

Calen just nodded, trying to avoid an argument. "Sure sure."

Chiyoko appeared in the doorway. "Pardon my intrusion, but I thought you might be hungry, and that you two might want a bath before dinner."

"Dinner?" Tomo asked, a longing look in his eye.

"Of course. Besides, I insist you stay for the night. We can't have you wandering in the dark, it's too dangerous."

"Oh, really, you don't…" Tyshi started.

"I insist." The woman stated stubbornly. "Come along. I have a nice hot bath all ready for you." The woman beckoned. Tyshi and Tomo started to follow after her, but Calen turned to walk into the other room.

"Calen?" Tyshi asked, pausing in the doorway.

"Go ahead. I'm going to stay here with Mazuki."

"Okay…" Tyshi said uncertainly and followed Chiyoko once more as she led the way to yet another stone house; a quaint little thing with thick green ivy climbing the low gray walls.

"Go ahead Tyshi dear, it should be plenty warm, I do apologize in advance, it's an outdoor bath, but it should do." The woman showed her to an enclosed back porch with a deep rock bath dug into the ground. "When you're done, I'll have some nice clean clothes for you."

"This is very generous of you, thank you so much."

"Certainly. We watch out for our own." The woman said kindly patting her arm and departed.

Tyshi stripped down and eased herself into the warm water. She submerged her left arm and gasped as a sharp pain exploded from her burn and she quickly jerked her arm above the surface.

"Uh… I almost forgot about that…" Tyshi cooled the water temperature and cautiously lowered her arm once more. The burnt flesh stung as she gently sent clean currents of water over the dirt incrusted burn, trying to clean it the best she could without actually touching it. Once she was sure that most of the dirt had been washed from the badly damaged skin, she quickly scrubbed the rest of her body clean. Tyshi plunged under the surface and sat quietly under the water, enjoying the tranquility of the cool water. She replayed the day through her mind; it seemed like so long ago now… The day had started nicely, she had actually eaten a _real_ meal and Mazuki had made her kiss Tomo. She smiled at that, laughing at herself and their silly antics in a day that had seemed so carefree and that had no worries. Then there had been the emperor's announcement of world domination.

She groaned at the cliché and what the man's ambitious plan would mean for her and the rest of her friends. She slowly emerged from under water as she replayed the horrific scene after they had been pulled over in the stolen car. Her arm pained her as she reminisced that particular part and she replayed her and Tomo's desperate fleeing through the forest and the way Calen looked and acted when they had reunited. She bit her lip contemplating the implications there. She sunk below the surface once more, trying to purge her thoughts on that particular subject and she exhaled deeply and surfaced once more and got out. On a chair just inside sat a few fluffy towels and a clean shirt and pair of pants. Tyshi smiled inwardly at the stranger's kindness. Tyshi didn't feel like she had the energy to bend herself dry, so she dabbed the water away with the towel and let her long wet hair drip onto the soft cotton of her shirt.

Once she was fully clothed, she exited the bathroom and Tomo approached, bare chested and horribly dirty. She smiled shyly at him and he nodded. Chiyoko greeted her warmly and they chatted merrily at the table until Tomo reemerged clean and damp. Chiyoko excused herself to fetch her husband for dinner.

"Much better." Tomo sighed as he sat heavily on a kitchen chair and leaned back tiredly.

"It's so nice of them, I mean, I never expected them to be so hospitable. A bathe, clean clothes, dinner and a place to sleep, I'm impressed."

"Like she said, we take care of our own. One for all and all for one against the evil emperor and his hordes of evil doers." Tomo teased, making comical hand gestures as he spoke. Tyshi forced a strained smile. "Ah, come on Tyshi, it'll work out in the end. We've got the Avatar on our side and a ton of pissed of benders. There's nothing we can't do." He smiled brightly, trying to assure her.

"I guess." Before they could continue their conversation Chiyoko and the doctor entered the room again. "Where's Calen?" Tyshi blurted out without thinking.

"Staying with Mazuki. No worries, my wife will bring him some dinner later." The man smiled kindly at her. "I'm Seiji, it's nice to meet you." He extended a hand and introductions were made once more. When Tyshi extended her left arm, the doctor held her hand a moment longer and carefully swiveled her arm until the burn was facing up.

"That looks pretty bad." He commented, examining the extent of her burn.

"Looks worse than it is. It should be fine." Tyshi lied, quickly pulling her arm back and hiding it beneath the table.

"None the less, may I at least put a bandage on it to prevent further infection?"

"I guess." Tyshi said reluctantly. She would have rather just forgotten the whole thing.

"Just a moment." Seiji disappeared temporarily and then reappeared with some gauze and quickly wrapped her arm.

"Thank you."

"Of course, that's why I'm here." The man smiled kindly at her.

"Anyone hungry?" Chiyoko asked, placing steaming plates of food before all of them.

"Starving." Tomo said and no sooner had he spoken he was digging in.

"It looks delicious." Tyshi said, and began to eat slowly, not consuming much for she wasn't very hungry. After awhile, Tyshi put down her fork, barely any of her food had been touched. "Wow, that was filling; I don't think I can eat another bite." Tyshi said, smiling graciously at the older couple.

"I'll bet you're tired. I can show you where you'll be sleeping." Chiyoko excused herself from the table and Tyshi followed her into a small bedroom with a guest bed set up. "Will this be alright?"

"Definitely, at least ten times better than what I'm used to. Thank you so much for everything, I really appreciate it."

"It's the least we could do. Thanks to you and your friends, our nephew and many others have finally come home."

"Oh. I'm just glad we could help." Tyshi responded, taken aback.

"Good night dear."

"Good night, and thank you again." She nodded and quietly closed the door.

Tyshi sat lightly on the bed and lightly massaged her throbbing arm through the bandage. After a bit, she lay down and tried, without success, to get some sleep. The pain in her arm got progressively worse, but she tried to ignore it as she tossed and turned all night long.

Calen stared blankly, watching the rise and fall of the blanket as Mazuki slept soundly. Calen kept replaying the scene in his head. First, the police officer stepped forward and pushed Tyshi against the hood of his car. Should he act now? Give it a moment? Something inconspicuous. They weren't much of a threat, standard cops just had to watch out for their guns… He didn't like the overly satisfied look the cop had as he pressed against Tyshi while he was arresting her. Tyshi started to struggle, this wasn't about to end well… Tyshi was shoved brutally against the hood and he lunged, grasping the man and slamming him to the ground. Something bright and hot flashed past him and there was a scream.

"He's a bender!" Someone had cried out. 'Oh no…" was his only thought, 'if I had only reacted sooner…' The man in his grasp was struggling violently. He switched his strategy and he wrapped a thick arm around the man's neck, choking off his arm supply slowly. Eventually he was bond to pass out. There was a thud and crack followed by a shrill and piercing shriek. 'Now what?' Calen had thought urgently. A scuffle and another thud, followed by a series of thumps. The man had stopped struggling and he quickly jumped to his feet to assess the damage. Tyshi was clutching her arm to her chest, that was the first thing he noticed.  
"Oh no…" The flesh was black and badly burnt.

"This isn't good Calen." The urgency in Tomo's voice tipped him off.

"What…?" Hesitantly he went to see what else he had allowed to happen and was horrified with the image that greeted him. Mazuki was motionless on the road, blood pouring out from beneath her. Thoughts raced through his head, running through different scenarios. "Shit… Let's get her out of the middle of the road." He had taken extra care in moving her out of the way and examined the extent of the damage. "Damn it! She's hemorrhaging and she's fractured the skull plate… I have to, operate."

Desperately he had thought to himself the grim scenario and the slim chances of Mazuki pulling through. The blood was pooling internally, putting pressure on her brain, if he didn't remove it soon, there would be permanent damage. Uh! There was nothing to work with, they were on the side of the road…

"HEY!" An unfamiliar scream had come from across the road where more police cruisers were parked and dangerous looking men were piling from them and headed in their direction. He cast a urgent from Tyshi and Tomo, standing at the edge of the road, back to the unconscious Mazuki that urgently needed attention _now_ and he couldn't just run off with her… He made a snap decision.

"Run!" He ignored Tyshi's protest and erected a stone barrier around himself and Mazuki. Calen prayed that Tyshi and Tomo had listened to him and that they had plenty of a head start. He tried to reassure himself that Tomo wouldn't let any harm come to Tyshi and he cleared his mind and focused his attention on the unresponsive girl lying in dire need at his knees. The whole time he worked on her he mentally berated himself, blaming his slow reaction for all the damage that had been done. His hesitant stupidity had potentially killed his friend and put Tyshi in danger. He mentally kicked himself and as he slowly zoned back into the present, watching Mazuki's chest rise and fall rhythmically, continued his silent scolding.

"Knock knock." A warm voice called from the doorway, pulling Calen from his reverie. He looked up and Chiyoko was standing in the door way with a plate of food. "I have dinner if you're hungry."

Calen rubbed his eyes tiredly and stood, crossing the short distance in a few strides. "Thank you." He took the plate and sat back in his chair and ate without gusto, but he remembered his manners. "It's very good. You really didn't need to go to the extra trouble to bring it out here though."

"No trouble. Can't let our guests starve, now can we?" She smiled. "You do know we have another bed in our home…"

"Oh, thanks, but no thanks. I'm fine right here."

"Suit yourself. There are some extra blankets in those drawers under the cabinet." Calen nodded at this and turned his attention back to Mazuki.

"Good night."

"Night."

The next morning, Calen awoke to Dr. Seiji rummaging around his desk. He had fallen asleep leaning back in the small wooden chair. He stood and stretched stiffly, stretching his sore muscles. "Good morning." He mumbled sleepily.

"Good morning. I didn't mean to wake you."

"Probably for the best." The doctor walked over and offered him a plate of pancakes and bacon.

"I figured you'd be hungry, but you'd probably be too stubborn to leave and come into the house to actually eat it." The doctor smiled teasingly at him and Calen gratefully took the plate.

"Thanks, I'm famished."

The doctor nodded. "When you're finished, you're friends are eating now and I figured you'll probably want to get going as soon as you're done eating. My wife has the horse all set to go." The doctor excused himself and walked out of the room. The doctor walked back to his house and sat at the table where Tomo was shoveling down his food once again, but Tyshi was lightly prodding her breakfast.

She caught him watching her and smiled embarrassed. "I'm not usually very hungry in the morning." She explained and quickly took a bite. Once everyone was finished and Tomo had eaten the remains of Tyshi's, Tomo, the doctor and Tyshi all walked back to the hospital where Calen was just walking outside.

"Oh, good morning." Calen said, taken off guard of being greeted by the door by the three of them.

"Morning." Tomo said.

"The horse is right out back." Seiji said as he began to walk around the building, the three of them following him to where Chiyoko was saddling up a tall chestnut brown stallion.

"He's gorgeous." Tyshi commented, stroking his strong neck and the horse turned his head and stared at her with dark eyes.

"Thank you. He's our best boy; he'll take care of you and get you where you need to go." Seiji said proudly, lightly patting his velvety nose.

Calen disappeared inside the building once more. Seiji walked around the side of the horse and opened a pouch on the side of the saddle bag and motioned Tyshi and Tomo closer.

"Okay, in here I have some clean linen bandages and some more gauze. You'll need to change Mazuki's dressings regularly, as I'm sure you know and over here…" He walked to the other side of the horse and lifted the other pouch. "I added some antibiotic cream and some painkillers."

"Sounds good." Tomo said as he riffled through the medical supplies.

Calen came back outside carrying a woozy Mazuki. "Ready kiddo?" Calen asked her as he walked towards the horse. Mazuki nodded tiredly, rubbing her eyes and blinking furiously.

"How are you feeling?" Tyshi asked as Calen lifted her into the saddle and made sure she was sitting securely.

"Like I had my head smashed open." She grimaced. "Actually, I'm not too bad, the painkillers I'm on are making me a little dizzy and tired, but I'm doing better."

"You'll be okay up there by yourself though, right?" Calen asked seriously, searching her face with overly cautious worry.

"I'll be fine." Mazuki reached down and pat his head.

"Well, that should just about do it. Good luck and be careful, alright?" Seiji said as he shook Calen and Tomo's hand once more.

"Yes, please be careful." Chiyoko chimed in.

"I won't let anything else happen." Calen said sternly as he untied he reins and clucked at the horse.

"Thanks again." Tyshi and Tomo called as they walked away from the small village, Calen leading Mazuki on the horse.

After they had been walking for a while Tomo piped up. "Do you even know where we're going?"

Calen who had been leading the way only half turned. "I got a good look at a map in the doctor's office, I know where we're going." He turned his attention back to Mazuki. "How're you doing up there?" He asked as he patted he leg tenderly.

"Okay, I guess."

"You think you can deal with a slightly faster speed?"

"We'll find out, won't we?" And she laughed nervously.

Tyshi who had been hanging back a little ways eyes widened. 'Faster? I'm having trouble keeping up now!' She rubbed her eyes, trying to get her blurred vision to snap back into a sharp focus.

"Ready?" Calen asked and Mazuki nodded so he clucked his tongue and sped up to a jog and the horse sped to a bouncy trot. Calen kept a strict eye on Mazuki as the horse sped up and she started to slide off to the side. "Woah woah woah!" Calen jerked back on the reins and ran over and caught Mazuki.

"Is she okay?" Tomo asked worriedly.

"Mazuki?"

"I'm okay. I guess I just lost my balance. Really, I'm fine." She said, trying to brush off the incident. Calen looked at her doubtfully and sighed.

"Tyshi, will you ride up there with her, you know, keep her balanced and stuff?"

"Yeah, no problem."

Calen carefully situated Mazuki back in the saddle and kept a wary hand on her as Tyshi struggled to get into the saddle. Her arm was giving her a hard time again, her strength was waning and her vision began to blur again as she tried to pull herself up.

"Here, I'll help you." Tomo said and he gripped her waist and helped lift her.

"Thanks." Tyshi said and flashed him a weary smile.

"You got her?"

"Yes."

"You sure?"

"I've got it under control." Tyshi snapped impatiently.

"Okay." Calen grabbed the reins and they took off at a steady trot again, Calen and Tomo jogging to keep pace with the horse. Mazuki started to slip to the right and Tyshi caught and corrected her.

"You got her?" Calen asked.

"I've got her." Tyshi snapped impatiently.

"I'm fine Calen." Mazuki tried to reassure him. "Sorry Tyshi…" Mazuki whispered to her and Tyshi just rolled her eyes.

"You doing alright?

"Yeah, sorry, I just can't seem to keep my balance… I keep dozing off too. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it."

They stayed at a steady pace for a few miles and Tyshi only had to correct Mazuki a few times. A fallen tree blocked the way, but it was low enough that both Calen and the horse jumped it and that jarred Mazuki enough that she suddenly fell to the left against Tyshi's bad arm and in its injured state, she wasn't strong enough to catch her.

"Calen!"

Calen immediately ran back and caught Mazuki before she hit the ground. He gave Tyshi a frustrated glare and straightened up, carefully cradling Mazuki.

"Are you okay Mazuki?" He asked.

"I'm fine."

Calen gave a deep frustrated sigh. "Tyshi, I can take it from here."

"Okay…" She said quietly and slid off the saddle. Calen set Mazuki up in the saddle and then vaulted onto the horse behind her. He grasped the reins and carefully supported Mazuki's weight in front of him.

"Let's get moving. We don't have any time to waste." Calen straightened out the horse and set off quickly again.

Tyshi looked upset and set off on the long slow trek again.

"You alright?" Tomo asked as he joined her by her side and Tyshi just nodded and tried to focus on keeping up. Tomo cheerfully kept Tyshi company as she slowly lagged behind.

"Hurry up." Calen complained impatiently as he half turned on the horse, watching Tyshi and Tomo's slow progress. Tyshi tried to walk faster, ignoring her hazy vision, forcing her tired body forward. Tomo ignored Calen and kept a supportive hand on Tyshi's arm as she continuously stumbled through the thick forest. Calen continued to spur them on irritated with how slow they were traveling. Tomo continued to ignore his persistent nagging, but Tyshi was pushing herself.

"If we could get back sometime today that'd be great." Calen commented snidely.

Finally, Tyshi snapped. "You know what? I'm going as fast as I can okay? In case you haven't noticed, _you're_ on a _horse_ and _I'm_ _walking_. _And_ I'm not exactly in the best shape, alright?" Tyshi stood there fuming and suddenly she collapsed, Tomo quickly caught her before she hit the ground.

"Tyshi?" Tomo asked, stunned as he held her, shaking and unconscious.

"Tyshi!" Calen turned the horse around and bolted off the saddle and ran up to her. "What happened?" He demanded.

"I don't know! She just collapsed. Maybe _someone_ was pushing her to hard!" Tomo cried accusingly. Calen's face hardened and he removed the bandage around her arm. Beneath it, the blackened flesh festered, giving off a rank odor, puss oozed from the infected wound.

"Oh god…" Calen brushed a hand across her forehead that was beaded in sweat. "She's burning up. This infection's really bad, she has one hell of a nasty fever…"

"Now what…?" Tomo asked anxiously.

"God damnit! She needs immediate attention. There could be serious consequences if we don't get that fever down soon and that infection under control. Why didn't she say anything…?"

"I think she tried to but _someone _wasn't listening. You were far too occupied with Mazuki to even remember she had been injured." Calen's features darkened as he lightly brushed his fingers down her hot sweaty cheek.

"Is she going to be alright?" Mazuki asked worriedly, watching from horseback.

"It depends…" Calen responded, looking up at her with a tortured expression.

"On what?"

"How fast we can get her back to camp…" He responded, looking from Mazuki on the horse back to Tyshi shivering in Tomo's arms.

"Take the horse." Mazuki blurted.

Calen bit his lip, clearly torn.

"Take it." She insisted and started to carefully lower herself off the saddle and Calen helped her down.

"You sure?"

"Hurry up and go already!"

Calen bent and swept Tyshi up in one fluid movement. "Thank you." He propped Tyshi up in the saddle and quickly took his place behind her. "Tomo, you got it, you can take care of Mazuki?" He asked.

"It's all under control now hurry up!" Calen nodded and quickly spurred the horse forward, coaxing it into a flat out run.

Tomo and Mazuki watched the horse disappear into the thick woods. "Ready?" Tomo asked Mazuki, turning to her. She nodded and started walking. "Wait." Tomo scooped her up and continued walking the direction Calen had just rode off in.

Hey guys, it's Sarahplainntall. Sorry it took me so long to update and I apologize again for how corny and crappy that last chapter was. I hope you enjoyed this chapter better, it was supposed to be longer, but it ended up being VERY long, so I split it in half, so I should be able to update it again soon. Leave me comments and I take suggestions/ideas for future chapters, just tell me what you want to happen and I'll see if I can work it in.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Juri continued to fidget and pace nervously, her eyes continually returning to the thick tree line, waiting for some sign of her brother and the others. She was worried, they were way over due. She had expected them back _yesterday_. Shiro kept trying to comfort her, but it wasn't working too well. Nami and Katoram didn't seem too concerned.

Katoram was digging through the supplies, exploring to see if she could find anything of interest. "Hey, sweet! I found a tent! No more wake up calls where I smack my head on a rock tent anymore!" Eager about her find, she quickly started setting it up. It was entertaining none the less to watch her wrestle with the varying lengths of poles and the plastic-canvas. At one point she had even managed to trip over herself and fall backwards in a tangled heap. That had helped Juri's anxious mood and got a laugh out of Nami and Shiro.

"Shut up…" She muttered embarrassed. She had finally managed to put up the tent after much more struggling and a lot more cursing. "Haha! Katoram 1, tent 0!"

"Actually, I think the scores more like Katoram 1 tent 4." Shiro amended with a laugh and wry smile.

"So help me, if you weren't the Avatar I'd… I'd…"

"You do realize you'd have to catch me first, right?" Shiro taunted her, to which Katoram responded by throwing a rock in his general direction.

"Shiro, leave her alone. Katoram, don't throw rocks. You're how old again? Be mature." Nami scolded them.

Katoram made her hands talk as she mocked Nami and Nami shot a single stream of fire out Katoram's butt. "OW! And you told _me_ to be the mature one." Katoram whined and Nami merely shrugged. Grumpily, Katoram gathered up her sleeping bag and the extra blankets and a few pillows and crawled into the tent and set up her new comfy bed. She admired her handy work and then stepped back out of the tent and sat at the table where Nami was sitting and poured herself some of the coffee they'd been drinking from a kettle sitting near the fire.

Juri continued her concerned pacing and Shiro entertained himself by playing with Saji, the little black and white spider monkey. Time passed slow and uneventfully until a strange sound came from a slight distance in the trees. Nami flew to her feet, Juri stopped pacing and prepared for a possible attack, Shiro air bended himself to his feet for he had been laying on his stomach and Katoram flung herself up from the table, spilling hot coffee all over her and the table.

A large chestnut stallion charged into the middle of their camp and before the horse came to a complete stop, Calen had jumped down, tightly gripping Tyshi as her head lolled inertly, her body limp expect for the continuous tremors.

"Calen, what's going on?" Nami demanded, stunned as she ran up to him.

"What happened to her? Where's Tomo and Mazuki?" Juri gasped as she assessed the damage.

"I'll explain in a minute. I need a place to put her…"

"The tent." Nami said and quickly pulled aside the canvas door as Calen strode over and placed Tyshi on the stack of blankets.

"Juri!" Calen called behind him once she had Tyshi settled. "I need you and your bending.

Juri snatched up her canteen and kneeled at Calen's side.

"She has a dangerously high fever I need you to cool her down." Calen explained and Juri immediately set to work, taking the water from her canteen and enveloping her hands in a thin sheet of ice and she ran it over Tyshi's head and on the back of her neck.

"She's really hot…" Juri murmured worriedly. "I need ice packs, it's melting off my hands too fast to do a thorough job for her entire body. Calen lurched towards the door, but Nami had been paying attention and was handing several small resealable plastic bags through the door to Calen who smiled graciously at her and handed them to Nami.

"Will these work?"

"They'll get the job done." Juri took the bags and started filling them with water and freezing them and then she handed them to Calen to disperse over Tyshi's burning body as it raged with fever.

Once the bags were distributed, Juri turned to Calen, every now and then pointing to a bag that had melted and need to be frozen again. "What happened Calen?"

Calen stared at Tyshi's haggard and pained face, his expression hard like stone and angry, yet broken and weary, it was a strange and almost chilling sight. "Everything was going fine… until we were pulled over by a police cruiser." Juri gasped and there was a rustling noise from outside the tent. "They started to arrest Tyshi, I should have reacted sooner, but I didn't. It's all my fault…" His voice cracked a bit from strain and his eyes closed, Juri placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "He started to arrest her and I only reacted once she started struggling and after I tackled the man, he turned out to be a bender and burned her arm real bad, then another man slammed Mazuki's head into the ground. The impact fractured her skull and she started bleeding out real bad so I had to operate and then more men were coming and Tomo and Tyshi ran and I took cover with Mazuki." Juri stared at him in wide eyed horror, completely enwrapped in his story, aghast at what they had been through.

"We met up in a small village and we got Mazuki fixed up, but I completely forgot Tyshi was hurt… I can't believe I forgot, I was so… _obsessed… _with Mazuki, I let horrible things happen to them and at the time, Mazuki's was more pressing so I got caught up in it and forgot that Tyshi was hurt too. No one did anything about it and it got really infected and I kept yelling at her and making her hurry and then all of a sudden, she just collapsed. That's when I _finally_ noticed this…" Calen pulled back the bandages, revealing the festering flesh, pussy and revolting. Juri clasped a hand over her mouth and Calen's face crumple devastated. "And so, Tomo and Mazuki are headed here on foot. They should be here in a few hours…" Calen concluded miserably.

"Oh, Calen… that's really bad… What are you going to do? Is there anything I can do?"

Calen shook his head sadly. "I've got it under control. Can I use your canteen though, and I'll need a towel and some of the bandages and medicine out of the saddle bag on the horse."

"Sure." She handed over the metal canteen and got to her feet quickly and fetched the rest of the list Calen had given her, handing it back through the door to him, Juri started to reenter the tent but Calen stopped her.

"It's okay. You don't have to be here… I've got it from here." He tried to smile at her, but the tired gesture didn't get very far before it fell flat and his face settled into the disheartened, upset stone mask once more. Calen looked far older and very tired, but Juri just handed him what he needed and eased back out of the tent, letting the thick canvas door fall back over the opening.

"Okay Ty, this is going to hurt…" Calen withdrew a knife from his pocket and dragged the sharp blade steadily down the infected side of her arm, and he anxiously checked for a reaction to the pain. The already pained expression on her face seemed to intensify a bit more and her breathing hitched for a brief moment. Calen's eyes glistened and his face momentarily embodied that of a man burning at the stake. "I'm sorry…" Calen managed to choke.

Once the incision was made, he began to knead the infected skin, carefully drawing the yellow puss to the surface and gingerly wiping it away with the towel. He repeated this process until most of the puss was gone and clean red blood welled to the surface and Calen poured the cool water over the wound and dabbed on some of the antibiotic cream Dr. Seiji had given him. He carefully bandaged her arm once more and brushed the hair off her forehead with his fingertips.

He leaned over and whispered in her ear. "I'm sorry Tyshi; this is all my fault…" He gently pressed his lips to her forehead like he had done years before, when the world was still a good place and nothing could possibly hurt him or his best friend. The skin was warm, but it wasn't blazing like it had been before. It seemed the ice had done its job. He let his head flop into his hands and heaved a heavy sigh then set about cleaning up; wrapping the towel around itself, the infected bandages wrapped up in it and he piled the melted bags of ice by the entry way and stepped outside, making a small hole and dumping the infected linens within.

"Nami." He called halfheartedly.

"Yes?" She had silently drifted to his side.

"Can you help me dispose of these?"

"Certainly." Nami lit the hole on fire and once the flame had died Calen covered the hole and quickly went back to the tent. He could feel four sets of concerned eyes on him, but he ignored it. He set about placing heavy blankets on top of Tyshi's still shuddering form to help her sweat out the fever. Once she was settled, Calen retrieved a small basin of water and a washcloth which he frequently wet and placed on Tyshi's forehead.

For the next several hours, Calen was very attentive. He was always fidgeting with the cloth on her forehead, making sure it was never warm, double checking to make sure the blankets were tucked in snuggly and trickling small amounts of cool water down her parched throat. All of these tasks were performed silently and Shiro, Nami, Juri and Katoram all watched the tent quietly, expecting Calen to emerge any minute. After a bit, Tomo came staggering through the woods, carrying Mazuki who had fallen asleep again. Shiro hurried forward and relieved Tomo and Juri hugged her brother overwhelmed with relief that he had returned safely. Shiro walked towards the tent and called inside tentatively.

"Calen…? Tomo just brought Mazuki, what do you want to do with her?"

"Bring her in." A rough voice responded from within. Katoram held the door back as Shiro carefully stepped inside and Calen helped settle her on another sleeping bag and stack of blankets.

"Thanks." Calen said, and he turned his back on Shiro and set about changing Mazuki's bandages and administering fresh antibiotics and dressings and he injected more of the sedative/painkiller. Shiro stood there, not quite sure what to do, but after a few minutes of Calen not acknowledging his presence, he left the tent and joined the rest of the group huddled around the table where Tomo was explaining in further depth what had occurred the day before.

Tomo accounted for much the same Calen had, but Tomo had disturbing news Calen hadn't shared with the rest of them.

"He wants to do what?" Juri exclaimed, clearly appalled as Tomo explained what they had overheard on the news the day before.

"That sick bastard… a _disease_? That's what they're calling us now." Nami spat disgustedly.

Shiro had lost all the color in his face. "He wants to… expand?"

"Not just expand, that jackass wants to take over the world!" Katoram yelled outraged.

"He can't…" Shiro said in a state of shock.

"He's going to." Tomo replied dejectedly.

"We won't let him!" Katoram yelled.

"What are eight of us supposed to do against the _emperor_ of Japan?" Juri cried.

"I don't know! But we can't do _nothing!_ I refuse to stand idly by while he destroys hundreds of thousands of people. This is genocide on a global scale!" Katoram exclaimed.

"Katoram's right. As the Avatar, I can't let him do this, but I can't ask any of you to put yourselves in danger."

"Don't even think of pulling this martyrdom act Shiro. We'll take him down and we'll do it together." Nami stated calmly, putting an end to any kind of rebuttal from Shiro.

"Did you have a plan, or are we just supposed to make it up as we go along? Somehow I don't see that ending well. Besides, right now our numbers stands at more like five, six at the most, not eight." Tomo pointed out pessimistically.

"It looks like we still have time to make a plan; I'd say it sounds like we have about a month or two before he actually puts his plan into action. I'm sure Tyshi and Mazuki will be back to fighting status by then." Nami said calmly.

There voices carried through the canvas of the tent and Calen sat silently listening as the others plotted outside as he continuously tended to the two girls. There was a long silence.

"What can we do…?" The soft whisper floated on the warm breeze and was met by more silence.

Hours later, the sky darkened and activity outside the tent had resumed. Shadows flitted across the canvas from the flickering fire and the smell of food wafted on the warm breeze.

"Dinner!" Katoram called and there was a bunch of rustling and clattering outside.

"Food." Nami said, pulling back the tent flap.

"I'm okay."

"Calen, you have to eat something. You need your strength too you know."

"Not hungry…" He grumbled and turned his back to the entrance and tried to busy himself by fusing with the wash cloth on Tyshi's forehead once more.

"Stubborn…" Nami muttered and she returned shortly with a steaming bowl of stew and roughly pressed the bowl against his chest. "Eat. Now." She demanded sternly. Calen stubbornly placed the bowl on the floor of the tent and turned to attend to Mazuki in an attempt to look busy.

"Calen…" Nami warned, becoming aggravated.

"Fine." He picked up the spoon and shoveled a large bite into his mouth, swallowed and turned to face Nami's stern gaze.

"All of it."

"Is this really necessary? I'll eat it when I'm hungry."

"I know you're feeling guilty, but starving yourself doesn't solve anything. What good are you to them if you starve yourself?"

Calen heaved a heavy sigh and he looked old and weary again. "You win." He said, defeated and he picked up the bowl and ate its entire contents and handed the empty bowl back to Nami.

"Make sure you get some rest she called as she exited the tent once more. Juri came in a few hours later and tried to get Calen to leave and get some rest.

"It's late. Why don't you get some sleep and I'll keep an eye on them."

"I'm not tired. Go ahead and get some rest, I've got things under control."

"Calen…" She started, but she was met with a cold stare.

"Juri, let me do this. I _have_ to do this." His expression became that of the pleading, agonized, tired old man again.

"Get some sleep." Was he final comment as she walked out. The entire camp went dark and snores from Tomo and Katoram could be heard drifting through the still camp. Calen tried to stretch his tired muscles in the cramped remaining space of the tent and rubbed his heavy eyelids. Both girls were still, breathing evenly, the rise and fall of their chests were their only movements and Calen fought against the incessant pull of sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Juri walked into the tent to check on Calen and the girls and all three were soundly asleep. Calen was sitting cross legged with his elbows on his knees, his face in his hands. Juri walked forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. Calen jerked back alarmed, his eyes flying open.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. Why don't you go get some breakfast and stretch. Maybe even take a nice warm bath, doesn't that sound nice?"

"Oh, no, really, I'm okay." Calen said, rubbing his eyes and scratching his scraggly chin.

"Calen, you have to leave this tent at _some_ point."

"I will. When Mazuki and Tyshi get better."

"Has anyone ever told you you're real stubborn?" She said, raising a frustrated eyebrow.

"Yeah, I've been told that before." A small smile appeared on his face and he gently rubbed Tyshi still and warm hand.

That day passed much the same as the last, Calen was very attentive to the two girls, someone brought him his meals and the only time he left the tent was when nature called. Once again he stubbornly refused to get some sleep and fought a losing battle with himself to stay up all night. By the third day, Mazuki began to stir finally despite the medication.

"Ungh…" She groaned and began to sit up.

"Easy there." Calen said calmly as he placed a gentle hand on her back and eased her into the sitting position. "How do you feel?"

"Well rested." She teased with a sheepish smile and clutched her spinning head.

"You alright?"

"Just sat up a little too fast. I'm fine; feeling much better."

Calen examined her with a critical eye. "Let me change your bandages." He gingerly unwrapped the linens and examined the wound. "Looks better, almost completely healed. I think I can replace the whole wrap with just a small bandage now." He said with a hopeful smile.

"Woo-hoo. Can I get up now or am I still bed ridden Dr. Calen?"

Calen paused to seriously contemplate. "Well… I suppose so, just take it easy alright?"

"No problem." Mazuki gazed around the tent and her eyes fell upon Tyshi's still form under a heap of blankets. "How is she?"

Calen paused in his movements to grab a fresh bandage, but quickly regained his composure, though his voice was a bit strained. "Better." He sighed. "She's cooled down a bit, but the fever still raging. She's been completely inert though, I'm starting to worry…"

"She'll be okay." Mazuki pat his hand reassuringly. Calen just sighed and stared at her sleeping form for a while.

"Mazuki… I'm really sorry, it's all my fault…" He began his apology, avoiding eye contact when she quickly cut him off.

"Not your fault, don't even try to apologize."

"But…"

"I'm not listening." And she placed her hands over her ears stubbornly and he have her a faint smile and then turned back to his work of fixing up Mazuki. Once he was done he escorted her outside and she blinked in the bright light. Once her eyes adjusted she finally got a good look at Calen who was helping her walk to the table where the others sat, enjoying a late lunch.

"Oh Calen…" She whispered appalled, covering her mouth with her hand. He had deep bags under his eyes accentuated with dark purple circles that almost resembled bruises. He looked pale and tired, even old. His normally cleanly shaven chin was covered in thick dark stubble, his normally neat hair disheveled and sticking up at strange angles and his clothes were dirty and wrinkled. "You look awful."

"I know, right? He's so damn stubborn he refuses to take care of himself." Katoram called from the table.

"We even have to force him to eat." Nami grumbled.

"I'm fine. Instead of worrying over me, why don't you just welcome Mazuki back to the land of the living."

"Welcome back." Shiro said with exaggerated enthusiasm.

"Nice of you to join us again." Tomo called, clapping her lightly on the back.  
"How're you feeling?" Juri asked clearly concerned.

"Much better." She said, smiling pleasantly. "As a plus, I don't look like a mummy anymore." She said, pointing to the small bandage that had taken the place of the large head wrap.

"Congrats, you really are of the living now." Katoram teased.

"Keep an eye on her, she's not fully healed." Calen warned, casting a stern eye about the group.

"Aye aye captain." Shiro saluted in mock obedience.

Calen gave a tired smile. "Just keep her still and be careful with her." Calen warned again before disappearing back into the tent. He situated himself next to Tyshi and took her hand and pressed it against his cool cheek.

"Come on Ty… We're just waiting for you now."

As if in response to his request, Tyshi began to writhe beneath the blankets and her forehead prickled with sweat and she began to moan, plunging into the depths of her fever. "Nn… uh… Calen…" She cried out in her sleep.

"I'm here Ty… I'm here. It's okay. I won't leave you; you're going to be okay." He whispered soothingly in her ear.

Tyshi continued to moan in her restless sleep, thrashing a bit. "No… uh, ah… mm…" she mumbled, tossing and turning.

"I'm sorry Ty… I'm sorry. This is all my fault. Please forgive me. I'm sorry Tyshi." He turned his apologies into a continuous chant as he wrung out the wash cloth and soaked it in the cool basin of water and moped her sweating brow.

For the rest of the day, Tyshi continued to toss and mumble, occasionally crying out for Calen and he continued to apologize and cool her warm forehead.

The next morning Tyshi opened her blurry eyes. Calen had fallen asleep holding he damp cloth to her forehead. She groaned, it was incredibly hot under all the blankets, she was stiff and sore and her throat felt like it was lined in sandpaper. She shifted a little and the movement woke Calen. He looked around, startled and when his green eyes met her cerulean ones, a relieved smile broke across his dry lips.

"Hey you." He rubbed his eyes and tossed the wash cloth aside.

"Hi." She croaked.

"Here." He held a canteen to her lips and helped her sit up a bit. She drank deeply.

"Thank you." She let her eyes close and let her head loll onto his arm and he shifted her and positioned himself so her head rested comfortably in his lap.

"How're you feeling?" He asked worriedly. She cracked her eyes open and examined Calen.

"A lot better than you look. What happened?" Concern colored her voice and she struggled to sit up tiredly and Calen helped her into a sitting position.

"Nothing. I'm fine. Seriously how are you."

"Tired, but I have a feeling I've been asleep for a long time." She reached out a small hand and stroked the stubble that covered his face and traced the dark circles under his eyes lightly with her fingers.

"Calen…" She said reproachfully. He clasped her wandering hand in his.

"It's fine. Hungry?"

Tyshi bit her lip, examining Calen's state and then rubbed a hand across her stomach. "I'm not sure…"

"You should eat." Calen said decisively, patting his knees. "After all, it's been somewhere around four days since you've eaten."

Tyshi stared at him wide eyed. "Four days…?"

"Oh, yeah." Calen's face fell suddenly and the tired old man was back. "Tyshi, I understand if you'd never forgive me, but I'm begging your forgiveness." Tyshi looked startled by this sudden transformation. "Can you ever forgive me for being the biggest jackass ever? I mean, I yelled at you, I ignored you, I didn't remember you were hurt, I let you get an infection that turned into a fever, I-" He was listing things off on his fingers and Tyshi clapped a hand over his mouth.

"I forgive you." She smiled at him and his face fell. "What?" She looked concerned.

"You must still have a fever." He quickly put a hand to her forehead to check her temperature. She pulled his hand away.

"Stop that."

"I'll make you a deal." He said, getting serious again.

"I'm listening."

"I'll leave you here with some water, soap and clean clothes and you can clean up, but you have to rest again. If you relax for a bit longer, _I'll_ clean up so I don't look like _you._" He teased her. Tyshi's hands immediately flew as she probed her face and felt her hair.

"How bad is it?" She asked anxiously.

"Not bad at all. You look beautiful." His eyes crinkled with a big smile.

"Shut up. Now you're just teasing me!" Tyshi frantically ran her fingers through her hair and hid away from Calen's view. He gently pulled her hands away.

"You look fine." He reassured her. "Alright, I'll get your stuff to clean up, then you rest and I'll go clean up." He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and hurried out of the tent.

"Wow, Calen, what's the occasion?" Tomo asked sarcastically as he emerged from the tent.

"Tyshi's awake." He said, not acknowledging Tomo as he set to gathering soap, water, a towel and some clean clothes for Tyshi.

"Really?"

Calen ignored him and delivered the supplies inside the door and zipped the tent door closed.

"Can I see her?" Tomo asked excitedly.

"No."

Tomo's face fell. "Well why the hell not?"

"She's cleaning up, changing then resting again. She's not ready for… _company._" Calen said and he glared at Tomo with the last word.

"Then what's _your_ excuse?" He asked, standing threateningly tall, getting angrier and angrier.

"_I_ know what I'm doing. If you were in charge, Mazuki and Tyshi might not be here now." Calen said dangerously. Mazuki who was sitting nearby waved frantically.

"Come on guys, its fine." The two men ignored her and she called out loudly, hoping someone else would hear. "Someone, help! They're going to fight again!"

Shiro ran up and bravely stood between the two and pushed them away at his arms length. "Really? Again? Why can't you two get along? You two are always fighting, knock it off! This should be a _happy_ time. Mazuki and Tyshi are both _okay_ but you two are too busy trying to kill each other to care!"

"I care." Calen hissed and he backed up a step and stood tall and calm.

"Truce?" Nami prompted.

"Fine." Tomo dropped his defensive stance.

"Truce." Calen said calmly, glaring at Tomo the whole time.

"Good." Nami and Shiro walked away, watching Tomo and Calen wearily.

Shiro narrowed his eyes and strode up to Calen and hissed quietly to him. "You _like_ her, don't you?" His tone was accusing.

Calen pulled away and glared at him. "No I don't." He held his cold stare. "I… _love_ her." Tomo looked shocked and Calen's face fell, defeated and he quietly walked off to the river to clean up, lost deep in thought. Once he was washed up, wearing clean clothes and had shaved, he looked like Calen again and he sat by the lake, skipping stones all the way to the other shore, watching the ripples.

"Can I join you?" Juri stood behind him and Calen motioned to the patch of grass next to him and she sat. "I'm sorry Tomo's such an idiot. But you two should really try to get along. It would really help the group dynamic if you guys could work together. Of course, I'm only approaching you on this topic because I had to bring it up with the most mature one." She smiled at him genuinely. "So you think you could get along?"

Calen sighed heavily. "I'll try… No guarantees though."

"So long as you try." Juri stood and started walking back. "Thanks Calen." Calen waved a hand and remained seated, watching the water. After he sat there for like an hour, he decided it was time to head back to camp. He walked up to the supplies and dug through them temporarily.

"Shiro, come here." He waved the boy over as he brushed the hair out of his face, his eye a yellow color now from the healing black eye. "Want to go fishing? I thought we'd catch dinner tonight." He held out one of three fishing poles.

"Sounds fun." He eagerly took the pole and waited as Calen walked over to Tomo.

"In lieu of our truce, would you like to go fishing with us? We were going to catch dinner." Calen held out the last fishing pole and Tomo took it hesitantly.

"Alright…" The three men walked off towards the lake.

It was an awkward and uncomfortable silence, but Calen was all smiles and he even began humming lightly. The three men reached the lake and spread out along the shore and cast. There was a tug on Tomo's line and he looked up excitedly.

"I got something!" He quickly reeled in a nice sized trout.

"Good job Tomo. How big is it?" Calen asked, smiling pleasantly.

"Six, maybe seven inches; that'll fry up nicely." Tomo licked his lips thinking of the coming dinner.

"Bet I can catch more than you Tomo!" Shiro called as he reeled in a nice sized fish of his own.

"You're on!"

"I'm going to head up a little ways and see if I have better luck up there." Calen called, walking a little ways away.

After a while, the bobber on Tomo's line dipped again. "Ha! Got another one! I'm so gonna beat you Shiro!" Tomo reeled in his catch eagerly and lifted it proudly for Shiro to see without actually looking to see his catch.

"That's pretty impressive Tomo, you caught a _stick_."

Tomo's eyes flew open and his proud grin fell slack and Shiro burst out laughing. After about an hour had passed, Calen came back to where Tomo and Shiro were still fishing.

"Ready to go?"

"Sure." Shiro said in an upbeat tone, gathering his cache of fish.

"How many did you catch Tomo?" Calen inquired politely.

"Three."

"I win! I caught five!" Shiro cried braggingly holding up the large cluster of fish.

"Shut up." Tomo muttered bitterly and lightly pushed him.

"How 'bout you Calen?" Shiro asked as he air bended out of Tomo's reach.

"Seven." Calen proudly held up his fish with a large smile.

"Wow, congrats. I guess you win the title of grad master fisherman." Shiro lightly elbowed Calen and he laughed.

"Wow, what a prestigious title." He pulled out an Emmy winning dramatic face. "There are _so_ many people I need to thank…" He pretended to tear up and Tomo and Shiro laughed. Calen appraised their total collection and smiled broadly. "Tyshi likes fish, she'll be very grateful for these." They were just entering the camp and Calen handed his fish off to Shiro. "Can you guys get the fire going? I'll check on the girls and see who's hungry." He set off at a brisk jog to the empty field where Juri, Katoram and Nami were training, talked briefly and then quietly slipped into the tent where Mazuki and Tyshi were.

Tomo quietly mocked Calen. "Tyshi likes fish, blah blah blah…"

Mazuki looked up from something she was tinkering with when Calen walked in. "Food." He whispered quietly and she nodded and left the tent, taking her strange new creation.

Tyshi was asleep again, resting serenely and she looked much better once she had the chance to freshen up. He couldn't help but stare at her peacefully sleeping form for a few moments, memorizing every detail before he decided to wake her up.

"Tyshi." He whispered in her ear and brushed a loose strand of hair over her ear. She groaned a little and sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes.

"Come on. Everyone's been waiting for your _great revival_." Calen teased her as he reached down and helped her to her feet and wrapped her in a blanket.

"Haha, very funny." She mumbled groggily, slowly walking outside and joining the remaining group outside.

"It's… _alive_!" Katoram cried in mock horror pointing at Tyshi who was coming out of the tent for the first time in four days. Tyshi stuck her tongue out at her and sat on one of the stone benches surrounding the fire.

"How're you feeling?" Juri asked worriedly and handed her a mug of warm tea which Tyshi took gratefully and sipped lightly on.

"Tired, surprisingly enough."

"Good to have you back." Shiro said with a big smile.

"We missed you." Tomo said as he sat next to her on the stone bench.

"Aw, that's sweet of you guys." She smiled tiredly at Tomo.

"So, how's your arm?" He asked attentively.

"Good, it's healing fast." She said and poked her thin arm wrapped in a bandage out through the blanket.

"Speaking of that arm, we should change the bandages." Calen said, walking closer to Tyshi when he noticed Tomo giving him a sour look and he hesitated. "On second thought, why don't you do it?" He tossed the roll of gauze to Tomo and he caught it with a surprised look. "I'm busy watching the fish fry." He flipped the trout in the pan and it sizzled delectably.

"Uh, sure…" Tomo gingerly unwrapped Tyshi's arm and threw the dirtied bandages into the hungry flames and began to carefully rewrap her wound which was looking much better and had already began to scar and scab. Tyshi winced a little.

"Sorry."

"No, it's fine. It's not your fault; you're being quite gentle actually." He smiled at her and she yawned and swayed slightly.

Calen walked over and placed a plate of fish with a few nuts and berries Katoram had attempted to gather earlier on both Tyshi and Tomo's lap. "Dig in guys." He said with a smile and he turned to hand out similar plates to the others before settling at the table with his own food.

Tyshi timidly poked at the fish, not sure if her stomach was ready for it yet. Tomo on the other hand began ravenously shoveling food as fast as he could into his mouth. "It's good." He mumbled to her between bites. She picked a little bite off with her fork and ate it. It was delicious and she began to eat a little more bravely. Tomo was having trouble stabbing a particular berry with his fork as it continuously rolled around his plate evasively. Tyshi giggled and went into a small coughing fit.

"You okay?" Tomo asked concerned and Tyshi nodded as Tomo handed her the warm tea again.

"Thanks." She smiled gratefully at him. She yawned again and rested her weary head on his broad shoulder and drifted to sleep.

Calen sighed and abandoned his half eaten food and walked towards the empty field by himself. Everyone else was busily eating their dinner, but Nami walked after Calen a bit concerned by his behavior. After a while Calen stopped and without turning asked, "Yes Nami? Can I help you?"

"How's it going?" Nami asked casually and Calen shrugged. "You did a good job, they're both recovering nicely." Calen shrugged again, gazing off into the distance. "You know there was nothing you could have done to prevent that from happening. You realize that, right?"

"Yeah…"

Nami decided to change the subject. "It's nice that you're finally getting along with Tomo."

"Juri's idea." He said vaguely.

"Alright." It was clear she wasn't going to get much out of him. "Well… I'm going to go eat, you really did a nice job with that trout."

"Thanks." Calen wasn't saying much so Nami turned to walk back to camp. Calen settled himself on a stone stool he bended and quietly withdrew his sharp knife and twirled it aimlessly around between his fingers. He cut a thick plant off at its stem and withdrew a small canteen from his back pocket and let the sap of the plant drain into it.

Nami was walking back across the field when she spotted two suspicious figures traipsing through the woods. The men hadn't spotted her, but she noticed the large flame emblem on the back of the official uniform and panic washed through her. She turned and quickly ran back to Calen. Calen looked up startled by Nami's sudden reappearance. "Fire nation." She gasped and pointed towards the dark shapes moving through the trees in the direction of their camp.

"Damn it." Calen hissed. Just then, they heard Katoram screaming something at Tomo or Shiro from camp, her loud angry voice carrying loudly into their clearing and it was obvious the two figures had zeroed in on the sound too. "Idiot!" Calen cried. He ran towards the two figures and whistled loudly, catching their attention.

The two fire bending soldiers noticed him and cried out and charged, fist blazing and shooting streams of fire at him. Calen still held his knife and he ducked the flames and slashed the blade across one man's throat, blood squirted between his fingers that quickly clutched at the wound and he collapsed. The other man shot large fireballs at Calen and he was only able to avoid them by raising a large stone wall. He shot himself into the air by shooting a stone pillar out of the ground and as he soared through the air over the other soldiers head, he coalesced the pillar into a heavy boulder and brought it crashing down on the man crushing him instantly.

Calen shook his head as he examined the gore seeping into the ground and then quickly ran back to camp to warn the other that they had company. Calen closely followed by Nami burst into camp, breathless. Tyshi was still asleep on Tomo, Katoram quit yelling at Shiro and everyone looked at the two of them expectantly.

"Get Tyshi and Mazuki in the tent now!" He shouted.

"What…?"

"Fire nation. They're in the woods. Looks like they finally found us! Get ready, this isn't going to be pretty." Mazuki crawled wide eyed into the tent and Tomo picked up a groggy Tyshi and secured the tent.

"Tomo, you guard the tent. Make sure _nothing_ happens to them." He warned seriously.

"No problem." Tomo withdrew his sword and crouched protectively in front of the entry way. Juri quickly gathered as much water from various spots around camp and Calen prepared faults in the ground ahead of them to catch most of the soldiers. Nami and Katoram waited, flexing their fingers anxiously. Shortly after, noises were heard from the trees ahead of them and a large mass of soldiers appeared.

"There… Traitors… Found the fugitives…" They heard the various shouts of the enemy in the distance and as they charged closer and closer, when they neared a certain point, Calen inhaled deeply and pressed both hands downwards and the large crack opened and swallowed about half the soldiers charging. He quickly swept his arms across his body and covered the hole with a layer of sturdy stone to avoid further problems. Juri sent a large wave washing over the crowd and washed some of them back; there were at least forty of them.

More and more soldiers started to close in, overrunning their defenses on the sides. Calen and Juri took the center because their defenses were better suited for the main onslaught and Nami and Katoram flanked them, taking care of the soldiers closing in on them. Calen sent out boulders, taking out two or three men at a time. Juri formed a water whip and taking out the closer soldiers and she also shot out deadly icicles whizzing dangerously through the air. Nami and Katoram created large fire balls and lethal falls and tornado. Tomo paced anxiously outside the tent, his eyes constantly roving over the raging battle.

The four benders at the front of the line were holding their own, taking out multiple soldiers at a time, time and time again narrowly avoiding death and serious injury as fireballs whizzed past them. The enemy's numbers were dwindling as Juri, Nami, Calen and Katoram continued to dispose of the attacking soldiers. Only a few remaining soldiers were left and those soldiers decided to rely on guns as their weapons. Calen raised a rock wall to protect them from the bullets and Nami peaked around the side and shot a thin flame at the larger guns, heating them and causing them to explode in the soldier's hands.

Suddenly, there was a strong smell of smoke. Tomo whipped around and saw a fire bender creeping around the tent which was suddenly ablaze.

"You bastard!" Tomo ran forward swinging and hacked the man to pieces.

Calen turned to see the commotion and his heart dropped and his stomach flipped as he saw the flames eagerly consuming the tent. "Tomo! Get them out of there!" He screamed, sprinting to the tent as he ripped the door aside, smoke poured out, filling the clean air. Calen charged in regardless and grabbed Tyshi up in his arms and as he ran out of the tent, Tomo ran in to get Mazuki. While they were rescuing the girls, Juri put out the fire and Nami and Katoram took out the rest of the soldiers.

Tomo and Calen tenderly laid the unconscious girls next to each other and Shiro stepped forward and bended the smoke out of their lungs. Long dark plumes rushed from their open mouths and dissipated in the air.

"Are they okay?" Nami asked concerned.

Tomo lowered his head over Mazuki's mouth and Calen checked Tyshi's pulse. "She's breathing."

"They're okay…" Calen sighed relieved. "How's the tent and supplies?"

"Tent is burned, but it'll still work and the supplies are fine." Juri reported.

"Good." Katoram sighed relieved. "We're all okay, right?" Everyone nodded to that.

"Looks like they know where we are." Shiro said seriously.

"They must be seriously searching for us now." Nami said gravely.

"We need to take down the emperor soon… things are getting progressively worse." Calen said solemnly.

Tomo's eyes widened in horror. "Oh no…"

"What?" Calen asked, turning to him as he sat between the girls, staring intently at Tyshi.

"I think she stopped breathing…"

Calen leaned over her. "She was breathing just fine a moment ago!" He sat for a second and then quickly snatched the small canteen in his pocket and tilted Tyshi's head back and slowly poured the thick sap water down her throat. He watched intently and after a few seconds she coughed and gagged a little, but she still wasn't breathing.

"Look out." Tomo gently pushed Calen back and he bent low over Tyshi and started performing CPR. Breathe, breathe, chest compressions, one, two, three… "Come on…" He mumbled frustrated and pressed his lips to hers and breathed for her again. A few tense moments later, Tyshi sputtered and coughed and inhaled deeply. Tomo sighed and his tense expression softened as he helped Tyshi sit up as she continued to cough. The rest of the group had crowded around Tomo and Tyshi and Calen who had been kneeling helplessly next to her.

"Thank god…" Tomo muttered and Nami and Katoram sighed in relief. Calen stood and lightly shouldered his way through the onlookers.

"You okay?" Shiro asked, looking down at Tyshi cradled in Tomo's arms.

"What happened?" She asked blearily.

"Fire bender caught the tent on fire and you stopped breathing for a little bit." Katoram explained calmly.

"Ya!"

Everyone turned as Calen spurred the horse into a brisk run and took off, riding away from the camp and everyone else.

"Where's he going?" Tyshi asked urgently.

"I don't know…" Tomo said looking after him as Calen disappeared into the distance.

"Shiro?" Juri asked.

"I'm on it." Shiro took off running, bending the air around him so he could run at incredible speeds. They watched Shiro disappear in the same direction Calen had ridden off in. Tomo helped Tyshi to the bench and got her something to drink and Juri worked on bringing Mazuki back to consciousness.

"Ow…" She muttered as her eyes fluttered open.

"Tent on fire, you became unconscious." Katoram caught her up to speed in an almost bored tone.

"Got it." She muttered as Juri helped pull her to her feet and she walked to the table where Tyshi was sitting and Mazuki was handed a cup of water too. Mazuki looked around and noticed Nami staring seriously off into the horizon. "Um, stupid question, but where's Calen?"

"I don't know." Tyshi said calmly, staring blankly into her cup of water.

"Okay…"

Nami suddenly lunged forward and dove into the tall grass. She straightened and roughly grabbed a struggling soldier around the collar of his uniform and shook him threateningly, lighting her hand and bringing it towards his face. There was a curt discussion and Nami looked mad. She then gruffly dragged him back towards the others and she threw the cowering man to the ground at her feet.

"Tell them what you just told me." She demanded angrily, lighting her hand again.

"Why?" He spat disobediently. Nami kicked him down into the dirt and stepped on his neck.

"Want to try that again?" She hissed dangerously.

He grunted and she eased up on his neck a bit. "Bounty. The emperor has put a bounty on all of your heads. He knows about you, how many and what you look like. Dead or alive, there's a high price on each of your heads."

Katoram looked disgusted and kicked the man out of anger and he grunted in pain. "How did you know where we were?" She demanded, pulling her leg back threateningly again.

"Standard sweep. We searched from where some of you disappeared and searched until we found you and called back up."

"How many are searching for us?" Juri asked worriedly.

"All his available troops before he moves on to the rest of the world."

"Shit!" Katoram cried. "How long until he puts his plan into action?"

He paused and Katoram kicked him again. "About a month and a half, maybe two. The sooner we can get you, the more secure he'll feel."

"Can't let that happen, now can we?" Tomo said darkly.

"What're you going to do?" The man asked cowering again.

"You're going to send a message to the emperor for us." Nami said tugging him up by his shirt front. "You listen and you listen good. If he wants us, he'll have to fight us himself and tell him to stop being such a cowardly little bastard and stop hiding behind all his soldiers."

"Obviously they haven't done him any good so far." Katoram smiled cruelly down at the man.

"You got all that?" Tomo asked threateningly, pulling the man to his feet and he was a short man that stood a head shorter than Tomo. He nodded his head fervently.

"Good. Get going, and if I ever see you again, you won't be walking away from it." Nami threatened. The man ran off, tripping over himself in haste. Juri, Nami, Katoram and Tomo glared after him, Mazuki continued to watch wide eyed and Tyshi stared at her cup still, the pit of dread in her stomach spreading.

Not too long later, Shiro reappeared breathless. "Couldn't find him… he's too fast and far… I lost him…" Everyone's head swiveled to look at Tyshi.

"Oh…" She said calmly and continued to stare into her cup listlessly.

"Tyshi…" Juri started sympathetically.

"It's okay. I guess he decided it was time for him to move on…"

Tomo sat closer and placed his arm around a shoulder, normally Tyshi would allow it, but she pulled away and stood. "We should get moving. They're looking for us now and we need to formulate a plan to stop the emperor, right?" She flashed them an insincere smile and quickly began to pack the scattered supplies.

"Are you okay to walk and carry stuff?" Tomo asked as she shouldered her heavy pack.

"Not like I have much of a choice. Let's go." Everyone else followed her lead and packed their things while Juri quickly caught Shiro up on what the soldier had told them.

"Let's go this way." Nami pointed in the general direction Calen had traveled.

"Let me help you with that." Tomo helped Mazuki with her pack. Everyone shouldered their supplies and followed Nami off into the darkening evening, quietly and solemnly mourning the loss of one of their members and letting the hard truth of their daunting task sink in.

* * *

Hey guys, it's Sarahplainntall. This is the second half of the last chapter because it would have ended up being like 30-something pages long on Microsoft word. Anywho… it's kind of sad cuz not a lot of people are reading this story anymore and it's a bit depressing because it's just getting good again. However, GrayStar1, you are the bestest ever! I think you're my best fan, and I'd like to thank you for sticking with me this far! You rock! If anyone wants to give me ideas for later chapters, write it in a comment and send it to me. Hope you liked this chapter!


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~TWO WEEKS LATER*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Tyshi was the first one up again and she was quietly cooking the dwindling supplies for breakfast. Nami was the other early bird as she crawled out of her sleeping bag by the others that were hidden under a thick cluster of trees.

"Morning." Tyshi just nodded and continued working.

It had been real quiet around camp since Calen had left. Tomo and Katoram still fought, Shiro tried to keep the mood light, Nami had always been quiet, Mazuki was absorbed in her tinkering and Juri was very sympathetic to Tyshi and had the same general quietness about her. Due to the bounty on them, they were continuously moving around, each evening, they'd move elsewhere set up camp and then after lunch or dinner, they'd pack up and move on again.

The smell of breakfast slowly woke up the rest of the group. They ate quietly spread out on the ground and Mazuki ate with one hand, deeply focused on some strange hunk of metal with a lot of wires and gears and it looked fairly high-tech. The silence quickly got on Shiro's nerves and he quickly started a conversation.

"So, Mazuki… What _is_ that?"

"Well… it's _supposed _to be one of my inventions. It's kind of missing a lot of pieces, we're a bit limited. I have a ton of ideas to use against the emperor, but like I said, it's hard to invent when you're limited."

"Well, we can use all the help we can get…" Shiro's voice trailed off pessimistically.

"I'm gonna go practice, maybe find something to eat too." Katoram heaved a heavy sigh as she hauled herself to her feet.

"I'll go with you." Nami jumped to her feet.

"Me too. I need to work on my fire bending… and earth bending… and water bending." Shiro said the last one casting a desperate look at Juri who smiled back.

"Okay, I'll go too." Juri stood.

Tomo, Tyshi and Mazuki continued to laze about camp, Tomo searching for more food and Mazuki tinkered with her invention. Tyshi scooted closer to Mazuki.

"Make a list."

"Huh?" She looked up startled. It was rare these days for Tyshi to talk.

"Make a list of the things you need. We need all the help we can get, right? Whatever you need for your weapons, I'll get it for you."

"Well… it's sort of a long list." Mazuki trailed off lost in thought.

"What?" Tomo asked, looking at Tyshi concerned. "How exactly are you planning on getting those supplies?" He asked her suspiciously.

"I have a plan."

"You're not going to do it alone." He raised his voice so it almost seemed like a threat.

"Oh?" Tyshi raised an eyebrow. Mazuki was oblivious to what was going on around her, she was too busy focusing on composing a list of items.

"If you're thinking of doing something dangerous, you're not doing it." Tyshi's mouth set in a stubborn pose so Tomo quickly hurried on. "At least not alone. Whatever you're planning, I'll go with you. Two heads are better than one, right?"

Tyshi nodded and turned her attention to the list Mazuki was writing, silently reading some of the list.

"So, what did you have in mind?" Tomo asked, sitting next to Tyshi. She started discussing her idea with Tomo and he nodded along, adding things here and there. Shortly after, they had a well formulated plan and not too long after that, they heard the rest of their group returning.

"You cheated!" They heard Katoram cry angrily.

"How can it be cheating if _you_ tripped! I didn't even touch you!" Shiro was arguing.

"Are you going to be alright Katoram? That looks like it hurts." They heard Juri just as they came into view. Katoram was holding her arm tenderly.

"It _does _hurt." She mumbled bitterly.

"Uh, stupid question, what happened?" Tomo asked, staring at the strange ensemble.

"Shiro cheated and I cut my arm up." Katoram held up her arm up and it dribbled blood onto the ground.

"I didn't cheat." Shiro said exasperated. "We were all sparring and I tried doing some earth bending when Katoram went to attack me and she tripped over one of my earlier attempts and totally face planted." Shiro explained. "It was the funniest thing you've ever seen." He added quickly and moved out of the way as Katoram kicked in his general direction.

"Time to learn Juri." Tyshi said as she quietly stood and walked over to Katoram and led her to an open spot. "Shiro?" She asked and motioned to the dirt beneath them.

"I'll try. It won't be as good as Calen's…" He trailed off and looked at Tyshi's face fearfully. It had turned into an unspoken rule to not mention Calen when Tyshi was around. They all turned to watch and she kept her expression relatively calm, but there was a slight twitch, she continued to hold onto Katoram injured arm and still motioned Juri to join them.

"Right… One table coming up." Shiro's face became concentrated and he exhaled and brought his hands up and a rudimentary table with a simple bench shot out of the ground.

"Thanks." Tyshi forced a strained smile and she sat on the table, had Katoram sit on the bench and Juri sit between the two of them. "It's about time I taught you to heal."

"Really?" Her face lit up and she got really excited.

"So get your water, put it on her arm. Focus your energy on the wound, let her pain become yours. Do you feel it? Can you feel the blood pulsing under your hands?"

"Um… Oh! I feel it!"

"Good. Now turn your attention to knitting the skin, reattaching the blood vessels. See it healing in your mind and focus on that, feel the water and focus on that image."

Juri obediently scrunched her eyes shut and a concentrated look crossed her face and the water glowed a bright blue. When the eerie light died down, Juri opened her eyes and moved her hands to examine the result. The cut was healed; the only trace it had been there was the blood drying on her skin.

"I did it!"

"Cool…" Katoram said examining her arm.

"Thank you so much Tyshi! Shiro, Tomo! I did it!" Juri was running around excited, showing off her handiwork.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully; before the darkness fully closed in, they packed up camp and hiked a few miles and set up camp once more. Everyone set up their sleeping bags and once they were set up, everyone feel asleep, everyone except Tyshi and Tomo. Previously they had pulled out dark clothes to change into for that night's excursion. Tyshi filled a large canteen with water and pulled her long dark hair into a bun and Tomo holstered his sword and grabbed a large empty pack that held a flashlight and a knife and the list Mazuki had made earlier. As a last minute idea, Tomo picked up Saji who had been asleep next to Shiro. Tyshi raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Trust me, he's a _lot_ more useful than you'd imagine." Tomo whispered and Tyshi shrugged and waved him towards a cluster of trees on the edge. Tyshi created a slick strip of ice and stepped on it.

"Get on." She whispered to Tomo and he stood unsurely on the slippery surface behind Tyshi and she took his hands and placed them on her waist. Tomo was thankful it was dark so Tyshi couldn't see him blush. "Hold on tight." Tyshi started skating forward, taking the ice from behind them and paving a path in front of them as Tyshi used her push and pull method to glide quickly between the trees in the dark night, Tomo clinging tightly to her as they went zooming along. They saw lights in the distance and Tyshi quit skating and gathered her water back into her canteen.

"Ready?" Tyshi asked as Saji jumped to her shoulder and chattered excitedly.

"Ready." They carefully picked their way to the edge of houses and watched them for a long time, trying to see which houses would be the least occupied and wouldn't have some kind of security system. They walked down the line of houses until they found a quiet one with all the lights off and the houses on either side were quiet and dark too.

"I'll go first." Tomo said and he adjusted his pack and sword and jumped up, grabbed the top of the fence and pulled himself up and over and he dropped lightly to the other side. "You got this Tyshi? It's higher and a bit harder than it looks."

There was no response, but Tomo heard footsteps running towards him. Suddenly Tyshi was flying through the air, gripping a long ice pole and she vaulted over the fence and landed crouched on the other side. She quickly gathered her water again and straightened up. Tomo stared at her wide eyed and a little slack jawed.

"Nicely done…"

"Thanks." She said breathlessly and motioned towards the house.

"Right. Should we try the garage first?"

"Based on the things on the list, probably." They walked towards the side of the house and Tomo tried the door.

"Locked."

"Damn."

"No worries, this is where our secret weapon comes in handy." Tomo picked Saji up off of Tyshi's shoulder and held him up near a hole in the roof. "Okay Saji, just like last time, go in and unlock the door. Got that?" The monkey squeaked and started chattering again. "Uh… I think he's got it, I guess…" Tomo said unsurely and Saji climbed the roof and disappeared into the garage. Tomo and Tyshi pressed their faces against the dirty glass windows, searching for some sign of the monkey and they didn't see anything. After a few tense moments, they heard the doorknob rattle and the door clicked. Tomo tried it again and the door swung open on squeaky hinges. They closed the door behind them and Tomo pulled the flashlight out of the pack and began reading the list aloud.

"Pliers, small motor, timing belt from a car, oil, ball bearings, copper wire, crescent wrench, nuts and bolts of various sizes, black powder, duct tape… the list goes on. I'm not sure if we'll find all this… it's not like people just have kegs of black powder anymore."

"It's better than nothing. I'm sure Mazuki can figure something out for the parts we're missing."

Tomo quickly scanned the list. "Okay, there's a lot of stuff she needs that I can get from that car." Tomo motioned towards an old Subaru that was housed in the dusty garage. "I'll work on scavenging the car and you search the rest of the garage for as much as you can."

Tyshi nodded and they set to work. Tomo found a light he could hang off the car so he let Tyshi use the flashlight to search through the various tool boxes and cabinets along the walls of the garage. Saji roamed the garage randomly jumping from Tomo to Tyshi, occasionally dropping things Tyshi pointed to that were out of her reach. After about an hour of work, Tomo came up smeared with oil and dirt and with handfuls of greasy car parts that he placed gingerly in the pack and Tyshi had come up with handfuls of useful items, some of which weren't even on the list. They quickly secured their stolen goods and snuck back out of the garage and moved on to the next house. This went on until the sun was threatening to break over the horizon and Tyshi and Tomo (and Saji) decided to get out of there and hurry back to camp. Tomo shouldered the heavy and bulging pack and wrapped his arms around Tyshi's slender waist and they went skating back to camp. Tomo stashed the pack under a low hanging pine tree and Tyshi helped clean him up before they dropped exhaustedly into their sleeping bags to catch as much sleep as they could.

It felt like Tyshi had just closed her eyes when Mazuki was gently shaking her awake. "Breakfast sleepy head." She said with a gentle smile as Tyshi fought to open her eyes and Mazuki moved on to Tomo, but it took a little more than a gentle shake to get him out of bed. Katoram moved Mazuki out of the way and ripped the sleeping bag out from under Tomo, but he just grumbled unintelligibly and rolled over so Katoram dumped a cup of water over him. He sat up cursing then.

"You slept later than usual. Both of you actually." Juri observed as they slowly climbed out of bed rubbing their eyes tiredly.

"Didn't know it was a crime to sleep late." Tomo muttered irritated.

Juri was about to argue with her brother but she could tell he was in a bad mood so she just left him alone. They all ate breakfast n relative quiet, the only sounds came from Katoram and Tomo and they devoured their meal. Once breakfast was over, Shiro begged for another training session with Nami, Katoram and Juri again. He was desperate to practice his bending; he could feel the pressure of the upcoming battle with the emperor and all his soldiers press heavily upon his young shoulders and he was frantic to master fire, water and earth while he still had time. Mazuki was involved in her inventing and Tomo lounged about and Tyshi sat back, she was willing to help Shiro train, but her recent hardship had left her calloused and ruthless and it was more dangerous to train with her than it had been facing fire benders.

Tomo settled and began sharpening his sword and Tyshi walked over to the low hanging pine tree and retrieved the heavy pack and dropped it at Mazuki's feet. "Check it out." Tyshi said and she settled herself on the top of the table Shiro had created before breakfast. Mazuki's eyes widened and she began eagerly pawing through the greasy car parts and the rest of the items.

"Wow!" She exclaimed, obviously pleased with the cache Tomo and Tyshi had procured for her. "You got almost everything! How'd you get this?"

"It was… around." Tomo responded aloof. Mazuki didn't question him further, but continued her excited exploration of her new goods.

"Sweet! I can do so much more now! You have _no_ idea how well prepared we'll be now!"

Tyshi was watching her quietly. "Anything else you can think of that you'll need?"

"Umm…" Mazuki dumped all her supplies out on the table and sorted them into various piles. "I can think of a few things."

"Write them down." Tyshi directed and found a piece of paper and a writing utensil and handed it over to Mazuki and she eagerly began making yet another list.

After a while, Mazuki went back to piecing objects together and Tomo finished sharpening his sword and got bored so he began digging through their dwindling supplies. After a few minutes of digging, he sighed disappointedly.

"Not much left." He announced. "I'm going to see if I can go catch dinner or something… You want to come with Tyshi?" Tyshi shrugged and slid off the table and walked over to Tomo while pulling her hair back once more. Tomo was an experienced hunter and after a while hiking through the woods, he found traces of a deer and he followed its tracks into a small open meadow. They silently stalked it, but remained hidden by the trees on the edge of the meadow.

"Now what?" Tyshi whispered quietly.

Tomo scrunched his face up in concentration and realized he hadn't really brought the proper hunting weapons. "Good question…" He whispered back. Tyshi sighed and Tomo examined his surroundings looking for a suitable branch that could be fashioned into a spear. There was a sudden swish as something rushed past his head and a sickening dull thwack. Tomo looked up and saw a long ice spear sticking out of the now still body of the deer they had been following. Tomo turned wide eyed to stare at Tyshi who was standing tall and calm.

"Does that work?"

Tomo just nodded. "Nice hit." He gained his composure and strode forward and withdrew his sword and Tyshi gathered her water and put it back in the canteen she kept on her hip. Tomo slit open the belly of the stag and removed the entrails. Once he had cleaned up the carcass Tyshi helped him clean the blood off of him and his sword and Tomo draped the deer carcass over his shoulders and walked back to camp.

They had beat the others back and Mazuki was completely consumed in her varying inventions and many completed looking items lay strewn across the table. Tomo dug through his pack and withdrew a large buck knife and he began skinning the carcass, carving off large slabs of meat as he went. Tyshi stoked the dying flames of that mornings fire and began cooking and seasoning the venison for dinner.

"Something smells good!" They heard Katoram call from a few yards off as the rest of the group came back towards camp. Everyone appeared shortly after looking tired and hungry. Katoram immediately wandered over to Tyshi as she flipped the steak over with a hiss on the grill. Nami walked over as did Shiro and watched Tyshi cook the last of the venison, a pile of the already cooked meat sat on a plate next to her.

"Smells good." Shiro complimented her, his mouth watering as the smell of the steak wafted towards him.

"Thanks. Tomo and I went hunting. He did all the work."

"Nice job Tomo." Nami said turning towards him.

"Nah, I don't deserve all the credit. Tyshi killed and cooked it."

"Regardless, thanks for a good dinner, _both_ of you." Juri said.

The last of the steaks were finished cooking and Tyshi added it to the heaping pile of the plate and straightened and placed the plate in the middle of the table.

"Dinner." She said mildly and she was immediately swarmed by the hungry adults who were eagerly skewering hunks of meat and eagerly tearing into them.

"Is gohd…" Katoram mumbled through a mouthful. Everyone nodded or grunted something unintelligible in agreement as they ate in a famished fashion. Everyone ate their fill and then some and by the time they were finished, the sky was starting to darken and the group members that had been training earlier were tired and their full stomachs only added to the lethargy. Shiro, Nami, Katoram and Juri bedded down and Mazuki continued her hard work on her invention by lamp light at the table. Shiro and Tyshi sat at the table watching Mazuki mildly until they heard snoring coming from Katoram's sleeping bag and everyone else had drifted asleep. Tomo produced a map and spread it out on the table in the lamp light and he and Tyshi examined it, looking for a small town nearby for their second raid. They found such a town bordering the forest they were hiding in just to the east of them.

Tomo took the empty pack once more and they dressed in dark clothes and Tyshi pulled her hair into a ponytail and gathered water once more while Tomo secured his sword and the pack and they set off in a similar fashion they had the night before, Tomo clinging to Tyshi's waist and Saji securely gripping Tomo's broad shoulder as they glided stealthily through the trees. They neared the lights once more and stopped. Their presence had alerted a neighboring dog and it began to bark viciously so Tomo pointed to a quiet dark house a little ways down and they began their work again.

They began in a small wooden shed in the back corner of the yard and it was cramped so Tomo entered alone to do a quick sweep and came up with only a few objects here and there. They then moved on to the door to the garage set in the side of the house, fortunately for them, the door was unlocked. They slipped in the side door and Tomo lifted the hood to the small car that resided within and Tyshi searched through drawers, cabinets and boxes strewn about the garage. She bent low to look under the work bench so secure some scrap metal that lay beneath and her long hair swung into her face. She brushed it away irritated and as she bent over again it swung loosely off her shoulder and concealed her vision. She grabbed the long hair, frustrated and turned to Tomo.

"Can I borrow your sword real quick?"

Without looking up from his work under the hood of the car he responded mildly. "Sure." Tyshi strode forward and removed the sword from its scabbard on his waist and slashed the blade through her long hair, cutting it short so it fell just to her shoulders.

"Thanks."

"No prob-" Tomo stopped short as he turned to retrieve his sword and saw Tyshi with her new short hair and the long ponytail hanging limply in her other hand. "What… why did you…?" Tomo was stuttering and Tyshi shrugged unabashed.

"It was getting in my way."

"But-"

"We should hurry." She cut him off and quickly stuffed the hair into a garbage can and resumed her searching of the various nooks and crannies in the garage. Once they were finished ransacking that garage, they moved on to the next house and the house after that. Once they had been through at least five houses and their garages, it was time to return back to camp as the sky lightened. Tomo mounted the overly stuffed pack once more and secured his sword while Saji jumped to his shoulder and Tyshi prepared their route as Tomo gripped her slender waist in his strong hands. They settled in their sleeping bags just as the sun broke over the horizon. A few short hours later, they were roused from their sleep groggily.

"Why are you both so tired?" Nami asked suspiciously eyeing them.

"And dirty." Katoram added.

Tyshi shrugged and Tomo grunted incoherently as he slumped at the table Shiro had created.

"Fine, don't tell us." Nami said with a brisk shrug and she placed breakfast on plates and set it before everyone. Juri had just come back from gathering water in a large jug when she gasped and dropped the water.

"Tyshi! What happened to your hair?" Nami had already noted the strange change and decided to ignore it, but with Juri having just pointed it out, Katoram's jaw dropped.

"Holy shit!"

Tyshi felt uncomfortable with all the attention. Even Mazuki looked up from her project and stared wide eyed at her. "It was getting in my way…" She explained lamely.

"Let me at least fix it up for you." Juri offered and Tyshi shrugged again.

"If you want to." Without even bothering to touch her breakfast, Juri immediately started rummaging for a pair of scissors and once she found them she quickly set to work trimming and clipping the hack job she had performed the night before. When Juri finished, Tyshi's hair barely brushed across her shoulders and it was layered and was naturally curled so it flipped out a little.

"Wow Juri, if we weren't wanted and everyone in Japan wasn't trying to kill us, you'd make a killing as a stylist." Mazuki said, appraising her work.

"You look good Tyshi. Awesome job Juri." Shiro said, winking at Juri and she flushed lightly at the compliment.

"You sure have a knack for that sis. Now she looks pretty… sexy." Tomo said casting about for a good word to describe Tyshi's new appearance.

"As long as you're at it…" Katoram said sitting before Juri and running a hand through her shaggy hair. "I like it short. Kind of just above my ears."

"Me next!" Shiro added ruffling his brown hair that was starting to fall into his eyes.

"I need to start getting paid for this…" Juri muttered in mock anger.

"I don't have any money, but I can think of something I'm sure." Shiro said bobbing his eyebrows in Juri's direction and she blushed and Tomo smacked his hand against the table irritated.

"Hello? That's my _sister_ Shiro!"

"Sorry Tomo You know I'm just kidding."

The rest of the day passed in a relaxed manner. Shiro decided he wanted a break from training so everyone sat around camp and joked. Tyshi and Tomo ended up falling asleep near the fire pit after lunch and Mazuki continued her work. Later, they ate a small dinner from the dwindling supplies and packed up camp and headed for a new destination. It had been another long, hard hike and everyone was tired by the time they had unpacked again and everyone except Tomo, Tyshi and Mazuki went to sleep again. Once they heard the tell tale signs of Katoram's snores, Tomo fetched the overly full pack and quietly dumped it out before Mazuki as she worked by lamplight.

"Wow! You guys are awesome!" She eagerly dug through the new stack of stolen goods. Once she had it all sorted into piles again Tomo watched her seriously.

"Anymore stuff you need?"

"Honestly, no. I think this is all I'm going to need. Thank you so much!" She jumped to her feet and hugged Tyshi and then wrapped her arms around Tomo, lingering a bit longer.

"You sure?" Tyshi asked.

"Oh yeah." She quickly became absorbed in her work again.

"Thank god, bed!" Tomo exclaimed excitedly.

"Hold on." Tyshi warned and caught him the back of his shirt. "This place looks a little familiar. Where's the map?"

Tomo pulled a large folded piece of paper out of his back pocket. "What do you have up your sleeve this time?"

Tyshi held up one finger and didn't answer as she carefully examined the map in the lamp light. "I knew it." A small smile spread across her face. She pulled Tomo to the edge of camp where they could talk without disturbing their sleeping friends. "Tomo, you don't recognize this place?"

He stared at her like she was crazy. "No…"

"This is where my group met up with your group! This is where we met raiding that bending prisoner camp!"

"Okay… So?" Tomo had the most confused look on his face; he couldn't understand why Tyshi was so excited they were near the old prison camp their groups had met up at.

"So, this is the same camp that… _he_… tunneled into!" She paused painfully over he, but continued on excitedly. "We wound up in an armory! There was a small building packed _full_ of guns, ammunition and all kinds of weapons! I bet after we broke in, the vacated that place pretty fast and left that building full of stuff we can use or the upcoming fight!"

"That's brilliant!" Tomo was caught up in her enthusiasm and swept Tyshi into a big hug. "Let's go!"

"Wait… I'm not sure if it'll be empty or not. I think we should bring Shiro and tunnel in similarly as a precaution."

"Good idea." Tomo crept to where Shiro was sleeping soundly. Tomo clapped a hand over his mouth to keep him from waking the others. Shiro was so startled he bolted up right swinging and his fist caught Tomo's jaw. "You son of a…" Tomo whispered angrily, rubbing his soar jaw.

"Tomo! What're you-" Tomo clapped a hand over his mouth again and brought a finger to his lips in warning. He removed his hand and quietly waved for Shiro to follow him to where Tyshi was standing. Shiro was rubbing his eyes tiredly and Tomo was massaging his jaw as they approached Tyshi.

"Okay… what's going on?" Shiro asked thoroughly confused.

"We're getting weapons at an old abandoned prison camp, the one we all met at actually. We need your help to get in. You're going to earth bend us into a building that we found last time; it was completely filled with weapons and like you said, we need every advantage we can take, right?"

"Wait, what?" Shiro was starting to wake up, but he stared at the two of them like they were crazy as they watched him eagerly. "…What have you guys been doing the last couple nights?"

"We went to towns and got supplies for Mazuki's inventions. Now you're going to bend us in, ready?"

"I guess…"

Tyshi and Tomo, along with Saji, led Shiro through the forest and after a while Tyshi stopped them.

"This is the right spot. Shiro, I need you to make a tunnel right about… here." She dragged her foot through the dirt marking a patch of dirt.

"Here goes nothing." Shiro punched into the spot Tyshi indicated and the ground gave way under them and they tumbled to the ground below, falling hard on the stone floor.

"Ow!" Tomo screamed glaring at Shiro.

"Sorry. This is still a little new to me."

"It's fine." Tomo pulled Tyshi to her feet and she oriented herself. "Shiro, can you see if you can intersect the old tunnel we used the first time?"

"Uh…" Shiro closed his eyes and knocked on the wall of the hole, he worked his way around until he stopped, his eyes flying open. "Found it!" He pressed both his hands against the wall and a tunnel opened up that led into another slightly older one and they followed that tunnel until it dead ended.

"Now what?"

"Open up the top _carefully_ and then you'll have to make a platform or something to take us up. This is where the armory was the last time we came in here."

Shiro did as he was instructed and Tomo unsheathed his sword and held it at the ready. The roof opened up and Shiro raised them up on a rock platform. They looked around cautiously and Tomo peered out the windows.

"Duck!" He hissed and all three of them hit the floor as a light flickered nearby. Once that light passed they all stood warily. Tomo checked out the window again. "It looks like this place is deserted, but it seems they have a few guys walking around just to keep an eye on things."

"Well let's hurry before one of those guys decides to walk by again." Tyshi said. They quickly began tearing through the room grabbing all the guns and piling them in the middle of the room near the hole. Tomo and Shiro had to work together to lift the heavy chest full of ammunition.

"Shiro you start making trips and take this stuff back to camp. We'll keep loading it near the tunnel entrance."  
"Oh man… why me?"

"Because _you're_ the fancy bender guy! Now hurry up, I don't know how much more time we'll have."

"I'm going I'm going…" Shiro jumped down the hole and created a spiral rock slide to slide the weapons down to him for easy transport. "I'll be back as soon as I can for the next load." Shiro called up the tunnel and they heard some rock shifting, probably a stone platform to help him transport their newly stolen goods.

Tyshi and Tomo continued to work in silence. After a bit, Tomo cleared his throat. "Tyshi?"

"Hmm?" She said without looking up.

"Um, well, uh… Oh jeeze, I don't even know how to go about this…" He stumbled over his words and got all tongue tied. Tyshi turned to him, mildly curious as he stood there rubbing the back of his neck.

"What's wrong Tomo?" Tyshi was standing in a corner and she watched him from across the room.

"Well…" Tomo quickly closed the distance between them in a few short strides. "Tyshi, you know I _like_ you, right?"

"Oh, um, yeah I guess so…" Tyshi was taken aback by the sudden twist this conversation had taken. Tomo stepped closer, there was barely an inch between them and Tyshi tried to move back, uncomfortable with the sudden close proximity and this touchy new subject, as she stepped backwards her back pressed into some boxes against the wall.

"Tyshi…" He reached out to stroke her cheek and she turned her face away and he dropped his hand defeated. "I know… I know you don't have the same feelings towards me…" His voice was tight with pain and she chanced a peek at his face and her heart wrenched at the dejected look on his face. She bit her lip guiltily and Tomo pressed on, averting his eyes.

"I know you don't like me like that, but Tyshi, I _really_ care about you. I know… _he_ really hurt you." Tyshi could feel her stomach drop and the color drain from her face. "He left and I know it really messed you up, but Tyshi…" His bright blue eyes were piercing as he stared at her. "_He_ left you, _I_ would _never_ leave you or hurt you like he did."

Tyshi could feel water beginning to well up in her eyes. Tomo waited for her to say something but she remained silent.

"Tyshi…" His voice was soothing and he gently brought her chin up so she was looking at him. "How many times has he left you?" Tyshi crushed her eyes shut and tears ran down her cheeks. Images flashed through her mind and she desperately tried to suppress them. Images of Calen and her as young children attending his parents funeral, shortly after, the image of him pressing his face against the window as his aunt drove him to the airport to move to South Korea. The image of his brief visits that never lasted nearly long enough, and he'd leave after only a few short days and she wouldn't see him for years at a time. Then there was the time after her town burned down and he trapped her in the tunnel while he was taken to prison. It was a full three years till she saw him again. Then there was the most painful image of all; all of a sudden she was on the ground, her lungs and throat burned from smoke and she didn't see Calen anywhere. All of a sudden he was ridding away without a single word. He had abandoned her, again. There was no way he'd find her… they were always moving around. She tried to tell herself it was for the best. He left before the big suicide mission. At least his life would be spared, she had to take solace in that…

Strong, warm arms enveloped her and brought her against Tomo's broad chest. Only once she was brought against his sturdy figure did she realize she was shaking. Tomo stroked her short hair soothingly.

"Tyshi." He whispered, trying to calm her down. "I won't leave you. I won't hurt you." Tomo pulled away and wiped her tears with his hands. "Just give me a chance, please. I'll treat you like you deserve to be treated. Maybe even after time, you'll come to like me the same way I do you." He brought his face closer to her. "Please… one chance… that's all I'm asking…"

Tyshi felt tired all of a sudden. She let her head rest against his chest. "Okay." She whispered. Tomo wrapped her in a hug once more and Tyshi tried to erase her mind by listening to the steady beat of his heart.

There was a noise from the tunnel and reluctantly Tomo pulled away from Tyshi and he flashed her a warm smile and she attempted to return it. Shiro jumped out of the hole and landed lightly.

"How much more?" He asked looking around.

"Not much. You got most of it." Tomo pushed the last of the guns down the rock slide and they thudded softly at the bottom. "That should do it."

Shiro, Tyshi and Tomo stood on a new platform that Shiro had created from the rock slide and he lowered them back into the tunnel. Tomo retrieved his flashlight while Shiro fixed the ceiling of the tunnel, or the floor to the armory, and then he created another small rock platform and they loaded the last of the weapons onto the platform and Shiro led the way bending the platform along and Tomo held the flashlight, lighting their path. Tomo groped his free hand out and found Tyshi's hand and gently wrapped his warm fingers around hers. She looked up at him and he smiled warmly down at her. They walked the rest of the way back to camp holding hands.

"Alright, everybody on." Shiro said motioning for them to get on the platform with the weapons and Tomo helped Tyshi up. Once they were all loaded Shiro made the platform rise to the surface and he covered the entry to the tunnel again.

"So _that's_ what you've been doing these last few nights."

Tyshi squeaked at the sudden voice that drifted from behind them. Tomo whirled and saw Nami leaning against a tree, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Jesus Nami! Give me a heart attack why don't you?" Shiro said gripping his chest.

"Sorry." Nami paced forward and picked up one of the guns they had piled high and she examined it carefully by the flickering flame that she held in her hand. "These are fire nation guns." She looked up surprised searching their faces for some kind of clue.

"The old prison camp where we met up with Tomo, Juri and Shiro. Remember? We found the armory again." Tyshi explained.

Nami rocked back on her heals. "Good plan. Wish I had thought of that." Tyshi gave a small smile. "Anyways, you should get back to camp. I think Juri and Mazuki are awake by now and they're worried about you three." Everyone followed and Shiro took the rear transporting the guns and ammo once more. Tomo took Tyshi's hand once more and Nami stared at it for a moment then turned to walk on back to camp.

"Tomo!" Juri ran to her brother and hugged him. After she hugged him she slapped him hard across the face.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Don't you _ever_ disappear like that without telling me first! You had me worried sick!"

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry."

Katoram sat bolt upright after all the yelling. "Was goin on?" She said while yawning and rubbing her eyes. She looked around at Nami who was standing to the side quietly, Mazuki digging through a giant pile of guns, Shiro trying to back away from Juri and Tomo who were arguing and Tyshi and Tomo were holding hands. She rubbed her eyes in disbelief and did a double take at Tomo and Tyshi. She dragged her lazy butt out of bed and walked up to the tall stack of weaponry.

"Where the hell did all this come from? Man, I really missed something…" Everyone turned to her and gave her a strange look. "What? It's not me! Look! Weird shits going on! Weapons just appearing and Tyshi and Tomo are dating now!"

"What?" Juri stepped away from Tomo to examine him as if Katoram's statement were true she'd see a visible difference. Her eyes locked in on their hands clutched within each others. "Oh my god! Really?" Juri exclaimed all excited.

"I guess..." Tyshi said quietly.

"Ya." Tomo said proudly. "Don't look so surprised." He added irritably.

This commotion had managed to get even Mazuki's attention. "Wait, so you guys are like, _together_ now? No offense Tomo, but Tyshi, what about… you know…"

Tyshi stiffened. "He's gone. I've accepted that and Tomo had a valid point, he deserves a chance."

Juri tried to break the tension with her bubbly excitement. "Well I'm just _so_ happy for you two!" She quickly embraced both of them.

Nami cleared her throat authoritively. "Okay, now that we're all done gossiping, I recommend that we all get some shut eye."

"Yes ma'am." Shiro saluted her and she cast him a nasty look and he flashed her a big grin and quickly hoped into his sleeping bag.

Tomo pulled Tyshi closer to him. "Good night." He whispered and kissed her cheek.

"Night." Tyshi said with a light blush coloring her tan cheeks. Tomo unwillingly let her go and settled into his own sleeping bag and easily fell into a deep peaceful sleep with a large smile plastered on his face. Tyshi however tossed and turned as images of Calen haunted her dreams.

* * *

Okay, here's the latest chapter, I'm sorry it took a little while. I hope you like this one, although I'm sure some of you aren't too fond of the idea of Tyshi/Tomo and might prefer Tyshi/Calen, but hey, this isn't the last chapter. Anywho, GrayStar1, you are by far the coolest fan ever, and I have a little surprise for you in the next chapter. I hope you don't take it the wrong way though. So enjoy, and I'll try to post again soon! : )


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Everyone awoke the next morning and they ate a small breakfast and began the routine of packing up camp. Nami was examining the map and Juri peered over her shoulder.

"Oh Nami! Can we _please_ go to a place with a river or lake nearby? I'm down to my last set of clean clothes and I could really go for a bath."

"Me too!" Mazuki piped up.

"A bath would be nice." Shiro said flashing Nami his award winning smile.

"Okay, it's not like you had to twist my arm. I need a nice relaxing break and a bath and some clean clothes sound like a good plan to me." Nami pointed to a heavily wooded area far from any city next to a large lake and Juri nodded in approval. "Looks like it'll be bout a six mile hike."

Katoram groaned and Shiro looked at the pile of weaponry disdainfully. Everyone packed a good portion of ammo and strapped a huge handful of guns under their packs and set off with the newly added weight their trip took longer than usual. They arrived at the banks near the large lake and Shiro made a crude stone table and everyone brushed rocks and pine needles out of the way and lay out their sleeping bags and unpacked a few essential supplies. Then they dug through their packs and pulled out all their dirty clothes and made a large pile in the center of camp and the pile reached Nami's waist. They then dragged the heaping pile of laundry to the water's edge and then the boys went down the shoreline out of sight to bathe and let the girls have their privacy so they could wash up.

The girls all stripped down and added their clothes to the pile and Nami and Katoram led the way warming the cold lake water as they went. Once they had the temperature right, they motioned to Juri, Tyshi and Mazuki.

"Oh my god! This feels so _amazing_!" Mazuki squealed as she sunk low into the water, a large smile on her face.

"Good temp guys." Tyshi said similarly sinking low and enjoying the warm water.

"Damn…" Katoram grumbled angrily and waded back to shore and grabbed the shampoo, conditioner and soap. Once she had joined them again she looked at her hands full of the cleaning supplies.

"Here." Juri made a little floating ice box with three indents suited to hold the soaps.

"Smart!" Katoram said appreciatively as she dropped the bottles and soap into their respective spots. The girls all had a nice long relaxing bath and got out, drying themselves. Tyshi and Juri by bending the water off, Katoram and Nami heated themselves and evaporated the water off of themselves and Mazuki just used an old dirty shirt that wasn't too dirty to dry herself. Tyshi and Juri quickly washed a dried a set of clothes for each of them so they could dress.

Mazuki, Nami and Katoram lounged about the soft sand beach of the large lake. Juri chatted with Nami and Mazuki while she washed the clothes, both her and Tyshi were standing knee deep in the water, their jeans rolled up. The clothes were soaked in the clean water and had soap rubbed across their surface and then the two girls bended clean water through the shirts and jeans and then bended them dry and tossed them to the other three on the beach to fold and sort.

Juri was busy chatting with Nami and Mazuki and Katoram had leaned against a tree and closed her eyes. Tyshi worked quietly when something strange caught her attention. One of the bushes nearby rustled ominously and Tyshi paused and watched it carefully, the others hadn't noticed and chatted on obliviously. As she stared through the thick cover of leaves, she saw a flash of color and instinct took over.

"Ha!" She cried out as she shot a barricade of icicles pelting into the bushes.

"Jesus Christ!" Katoram screamed startled and she flipped over and stared, trying to figure out what was going on.

Tyshi marched to the spot where she had shot her attack and as she dug through the thick branches, she found a boy of about fifteen pinned to the dirt by some of her icicles.

"A spy!" She called grabbing the front of the boy's shirt and jerking him up out of the bushes. Nami and Katoram jumped to their feet and all the girls ran to surround the dangerous threat.

"I'm not a spy!" He cried meekly flinching as they closed in viciously on him.

"Then why were you sneaking around?" Nami cried lighting her hand and shoving it in his face threateningly.

"I'm not a spy! I'm looking for people to join my rebellion!"

"Likely story!" Katoram screeched sarcastically lighting both her hands threateningly too.

"How did you find us?" Mazuki said getting in the boys face, making him cower.

"I was just wandering through the woods trying to find people, honest!"

Tomo and Shiro had heard all the commotion and had come running, Tomo was panting and Shiro looked around with wild eyes. "What's going on?"

"Tyshi found a spy." Nami said venomously jerking the young man forward by the front of his color and sent him tumbling to the ground at the boy's feet.

"Spy?" Shiro said angrily.

"Bad day to be you." Tomo said and he drove his sword into the ground right in front of his face and he looked up and gulped. "You have to have come from somewhere and for your sake; I hope you remember the way back."

Nami pulled the boy back up and shoved him roughly back towards camp. "Shiro, come here." The three of them walked off while the rest of them quickly gathered their clean clothes and went back to camp as well. When Tyshi, Juri, Tomo, Katoram and Mazuki came back and dropped their clothes and saw that Shiro had trapped the guy by bending the ground up around his feet and binding his hands with stone and fusing it to the table.

While the spy was held captive, everyone quickly packed their stuff. Once they were ready to go, Shiro released the prisoner and Nami gruffly grabbed the back of his shirt once more and made him lead the way back to where he had been sent from. The prisoner tripped many times over the rough terrain and Nami had little patience for the spy spite his young age. Everyone kept a watchful eye on him as Nami marched him at the head of the group.

"Nice catch Tyshi." Tomo said smiling down at her.

"Better we catch him than him catch us."

"We should be prepared for whatever awaits us once he leads us back. Anything could be there and it's best we be prepared." Katoram said pessimistically as she glared at the pitiable young man being pushed by Nami. "He probably works for the fire nation and the emperor and he was tracking us for the reward."

"But I'm not! I don't work for the fire nation! I'm in a rebel camp of about five hundred that are working to take down the emperor."

"Shut up!" Nami pushed him sharply, not trusting him and the way his eyes darted shiftily from one person's face to the next.

A few hours had passed and everyone's patience with their prisoner was quickly waning.

"I'll bet the little sneak is leading us in circles!" Katoram cried outraged.

Mazuki withdrew a very intimidating tool with long sharp blades on it. "You wouldn't lie to us and try to lead us elsewhere, now would you?" Her sweet voice held dangerous pitfalls as she held the deadly tool before the boy. "Because if you were, you just might lose… _something_." She looked downwards meaningfully.

"No! I promise! Please, don't hurt me, I'm begging you!"

"How much further?" Shiro demanded.

"Not much further. That tree up there with those four lines in the bark are a marker, they show the border of the rebel camp, you'll see for yourself!" The boy was so stressed and terrified it almost made them feel bad for him, but they couldn't risk letting their guard down in case he _was_ working for the fire nation. Soon they heard noises from not far ahead and Nami pushed him forward once more, lighting a hand and proceeding with caution. The others similarly prepared themselves for any potential danger.

"Walk." Nami hissed, pushing him forward again, holding his shirt and guiding him, using him like a shield. There was a noise and Nami dropped the boy and everyone whirled towards the sounds that surrounded them. Katoram and Nami's hands lit dangerously, Juri and Tyshi held long streams of water in the air ready for an attack, Mazuki held one of the more powerful guns, Tomo held his sword at the ready and Shiro decided to go with earth bending and held a large boulder over his head ready to throw. Their small group was surrounded by ruthless looking men similarly armed with lethal weapons or earth, fire and water.

"Drop your weapons." A burly man with salt and pepper hair demanded gruffly.

"You drop _your_ weapons." Tomo challenged, watching the various men surrounding them and holding his sword steadily.

"Funny. Clearly you're outnumbered, give up peacefully and no one gets hurt." At these words, several more men just as intimidating as the first group joined the opposing ranks.

"Shit." Katoram hissed under her breath.

"Nami?" Shiro asked unsurely as the men surrounded them and Nami grit her teeth.

"We can take them." Nami caught a determined look from Tyshi.

"It's suicide!" Juri hissed.

"Juri's right." Nami straightened and relaxed her fighting stance and extinguished her hands. The others slowly relaxed their tense stances.

"Good. Now, you two, drop your weapons and your packs. And you," he pointed at Shiro "drop the boulder." Shiro let the boulder slide back into the ground and Mazuki carefully placed the high powered rifle on the ground and Tomo glared balefully at the men as he tossed his prized sword into the dirt at their feet. Everyone slid the packs off their backs and let them fall to the ground as well.

"You alright there Makoto?" The burly man asked picking the frightened boy up off the ground where he had remained cowering.

"Yeah…" He said shakily as he brushed himself off.

"What happened?" He asked looking over the thin boy and then casting a dark look at their group.

"I was scouting and they thought I was a spy and they made me take them back here."

"Who sneaks around in the bushes? Honestly! What were we supposed to think?" Katoram cried defensively. The large man turned his menacing gray eyes on her and she shrunk back and shut up.

Shiro chimed in quickly trying to smooth over the situation. "Look, I don't normally pull this card but… we thought he was a spy because there's a bounty on our heads and most of Japan's soldiers are after us because we've been freeing prisoners across the land and… I'm the Avatar." Shiro's chest puffed out proudly as he explained.

"You? You're supposed to be the Avatar?" Another large man scoffed appraising Shiro's appearance.

"Well… yeah…" Shiro had been taken off guard.

"Show them." Juri whispered. Shiro bended a few small rocks around his hand then he added water and fire to his spinning and levitated off the ground using an air ball to float.

"Point taken, you're the Avatar. Let them go, we need to show the boss." The intimidating lead man said. They were all taken aback that this terrifying man wasn't in charge of things. Shiro feared the man that _this_ bear of a man answered to.

"You sure Gray Star?" One of the men asked looking skeptically at the large man.

"It's fine Nagano." He said pushing past the other man and motioning for the others to follow him. They all followed him cautiously as he led them through an enormous camp with tents everywhere and people were constantly milling about. It was amazing seeing so many people come together to rise up against a common injustice. It was surprising to see all the friendly faces call out pleasantly to the intimidating man leading them through the enormous camp.

"Hello Gray Star! New arrivals?"

"You betcha. You won't have to worry about a thing Kida, we've got plenty of reinforcements. You're Hitoshi probably won't see any action at this rate. I'll bet we have more rebels than Japan has soldiers."

"That's a relief." She smiled kindly at him and he continued on, their group following closely, marveling at the sights around them. As they moved on in silence, Tomo tried to break the tension.

"So… Gray Star… That's an interesting name."

"My name's Hiro, everyone around here calls me Gray Star. It's kind of a long story."

"Well, okay then." Tomo said. They were a bit relieved that Gray Star was no longer hostile towards them, indeed he was an intimidating man, but at least he no longer saw them as a threat but as helpful allies. They weaved between tents and fires, horses, dogs, people and cars. It was astounding that with all of the fire nation searching the country sides for Shiro and his group that they hadn't stumbled across this yet.

"How have you not been discovered yet?" Nami asked looking around skeptically.

"Constant surveillance a mile out around the camp. If we didn't want you to find us, you wouldn't have. We've only been here for about a week and a half." He laughed at the shocked look on their face. "I know it's a lot to take in. All this coming together in such a short time. We've had an astonishing leader though; the boss started riding out to small areas and spreading the word and it shortly grew to this." He made a sweeping gesture around him.

"Sounds like an impressive guy."

"He is." They came to a stop in front of a large canvas tent. "Wait here, I'll see if he has a minute." Gray Star disappeared into the large tent and they heard some low mumbling. Juri shifted nervously, Tomo kept tracing the handle of his sword, Shiro petted Saji absentmindedly, Katoram kept watching the other people and Tyshi and Nami focused on the tent, trying to catch snippets of conversation to no avail.

Time passed painfully slow as their small group sat isolated outside the tent of the fearless leader they had yet to meet. Mazuki kept checking her watch anxiously until finally Gray Star reemerged from the tent and they watched him apprehensively.

"He's busy planning with the war committee. He said he'd meet the 'impressive new comers' later, after dinner."

"So what are we supposed to do in the meantime?" Nami asked.

"I've already called Nagano and he set up a few tents for you guys and he even took the liberty of putting your stuff in them." At these words a sly smile spread across him mouth and Tomo let out a low laugh. "Anyway, I think we got off on the wrong foot so I'd like to say, I'm glad to add such high status rebels to our ranks. I'm indebted to you eternally for what you've done for the people at this camp. Half of us wouldn't be here if it weren't for all of you. And…" His dark eyes swept across each of their faces gratefully. "Now that we have the Avatar on our side, we can't possibly lose!" He clapped Shiro on the back making him stumble a bit under the strength of the playful blow.

"Follow me." Gray Star had definitely taken on a better mood. He led them back into the heart of the camp and up to three canvas tents. "Two for the ladies and one for the men." Gray Star beamed down at them. "We all cook a huge communal dinner and eat together, everyone contributes what they can. I'll come find you after dinner and introduce you to the boss, but now, it's time for you guys to get the official tour since you are now part of the resistance. Erm… how about an official introduction first?"

"I'm Nami, I'm a fire bender."

"Nami, nice of you to join us. Good you got away from the dark side, even though I hear they have cookies." He winked at her, thoroughly enjoying their company now.

"I'm Katoram, I'm a fire bender too. So long as you guys have food, I'll stick to this side." She said with a large joking smile.

"Mazuki." Mazuki reached a hand forward to shake his. "I'm not a bender, but I invent things; weapons to be more precise."

"Well Mazuki, you'll be a wonderful addition to our team. I'll have to introduce you to Kiyo, he's our local inventor too, I think you two will really hit it off."

"Really? That's awesome!" Mazuki had a large grin spread across her face at the prospects of a fellow inventor to help her with her weapons.

"I'm Juri and I'm a water bender. This is my brother Tomo, he's an expert swordsman." Juri said motioning to her brother and he waved shyly.

"A man trained in the art of the sword huh? Oh good, I thought that was a dying art, we don't have many of those here, but I'm sure you'll make a great addition. I'll have to introduce you to the other weapon guys."

"Sounds good." Tomo said with a smile then he loosely hooked an arm around Tyshi's waist. "Gray Star, this is my girlfriend, Tyshi and she's an amazing water bender."

"It's nice to meet you Tyshi." He held out a hand and she took it.

"Nice to meet you too Gray Star." He glanced her over and elbowed Tomo teasingly.

"Nicely done Tomo, pretty and talented." Tyshi gave him a friendly smile.

"Last but not least," Shiro said speaking a little loudly trying to get Gray Star's attention. "I'm Shiro and I'm the Avatar."

"Marvelous! We're all introduced and we're all happy to have you. Now, is everyone ready for a tour?" He clapped his hands together eagerly. It was getting hard for them to remember why they had been afraid of Gray Star.

Gray Star started off through the camp once more with all of them following him as he weaved around, pointing out people and different areas of camp. Tomo kept his arm around Tyshi's waist as he glanced around suspiciously at all the men checking her out. He kept pulling her closer to him and most of them would turn their attention to stare at Mazuki and Juri as they walked by.

"Katoram, this is the main kitchen where most of the food is cooked. I thought you'd appreciate me pointing this out."

"No kidding…" Katoram drifted closer sniffing the air, her mouth watering. "Oh… so hungry… it smells so good."

"Cookey…?" Gray Star said nodding to an older man tucked away behind several large vats of food. The older gentleman passed a steaming bowl of rich stew to Katoram and she stared at him wide eyed as she accepted the bowl and inhaled the scent deeply and took a cautious sip.

"It's so good." She wiped away a tear and quickly downed the rest of the bowl. "If dinner is this good every night, I'll gladly risk my life for you." Gray Star let out a hearty laugh.

"That's good to know." They waited for Katoram to loudly finish slurping the rest of her stew before they moved on. "I'll show you where all the hand to hand or specialty fighters train Tomo, then once you get settled you can start to check it out and practice." He looked around at the other benders. "There are sections of this camp where earth, fire and water benders practice, but most of the benders are spread out and mixed up." He pointed to the north. "That's where fire benders meet and train. And there to the west is where water benders get together, there's a big lake out there and to the east is earth and obviously, the south here is for those who rely on weapons."

They entered a large arena type area where men and women were sparring with swords, knives, bows and arrows and all manners of weaponry. There were several targets placed at one end and there were several people fighting each other. Tomo watched fascinated, eagerly fingering the hilt of his sword.

"Pretty exciting, huh Tomo?" He looked at Tomo who couldn't peel his eyes away from the training arena.

"Can't wait to show them what I got." He flashed a fervent smile down at Tyshi and she smiled back.

"Mazuki, your next. Are you ready to meet Kiyo?"

"Can't wait!" She exclaimed excitedly.

"Right this way." He led them off through camp again. They came to a stop outside a medium sized work shop with a ton of tools spread about and papers covered the workbenches, an older man bent over a table concentrating on something intently.

"Knock knock." Gray Star said entering the work shop.

"Gray Star, come in." The man said without looking up from his work.

"Actually, I brought you an apprentice Kiyo."

"Really?" The man quickly glanced their way and Gray Star brought Mazuki forward and she waved shyly to Kiyo.

"Are you an inventor young lady?" Kiyo said heaving himself up from where he was sitting and walked towards her.

"Yes sir. I'm working on all kinds of things right now to help us against the fire nation."

"Really? Come and sit and tell me all about it." He eagerly ushered her towards the bench he had been sitting at. They quickly delved deeply into a conversation about their inventions and the rest of the tour group stood quietly near the entry way, losing interest.

"Mazuki, you know how to find your way back to camp right?" Juri called to her and she nodded yes and continued her conversation. The rest of the group left and Gray Star finished up his tour and left them to settle into their new camp site. They all settled in, Tomo and Shiro set up their stuff, Tyshi and Juri decided to room together and they set up Mazuki's stuff in their tent as well and Nami and Katoram decided to room together in the other tent.

"I'm going to go check out the fire training place up north." Nami said, stretching after unpacking her stuff.

"Wait up! I'll go with you!" Katoram said staggering to her feet.

"Now that you mention it, I want to visit the water area to the west." Juri said.

"Mind if I join you?" Shiro asked, joining her.

"Of course!" Juri smiled and they set off in one direction and Nami and Katoram went off in another.

"Don't you want to go check out the weapons arena?" Tyshi asked, eyeing Tomo.

Tomo unstrapped the sword from his waist where it normally staid and tossed it into his tent. "Nah, I thought I'd spend some quality time with my girlfriend. It's rare when we'll get some time to ourselves." He smiled at her as he suavely looped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

"You do realize we're not really alone, right?" Tyshi looked around and the dozens of people milling about around them.

"That's alright." Tomo leaned in and kissed Tyshi. She sat and allowed him to kiss her, but she didn't respond. "Come on Tyshi, I'm really trying here." He begged her as he pulled back and searched her face pleadingly.

"I know, I'm sorry."

"Let's try this again." Tomo cupped her face gently in his large hands and brought his lips down on hers. Tyshi willed herself to react, but she just couldn't bring herself to kiss him back. "Okay." Tomo let her go and stepped back, watching her with a slightly dejected look on his face.

"Tomo, I'm really sorry. I just can't help it…" She wrung her hands and looked guilty.

"No, it's okay. I understand. I'm willing to wait." He smiled at her and she tried to return it.

"This isn't fair to you Tomo. If I were you, I would move on. There are plenty of girls here after all. I'm not what you want; I'm damaged goods, so to speak."

"I don't care if it's not fair. Tyshi, _you're _the one I want. I'm not going to give up just because some asshole broke your heart one too many times. I'm not going to give up just because it may take some time." He hugged her when her eyes started to mist over with tears. "I don't want to leave you like he did."

"Thanks Tomo, you're a good friend."

The last word sent a stabbing pain through Tomo and his arms tensed around her and she quickly mulled over what she had just said.

"Oh, I'm sorry, that's not what I meant." She quickly tried to back pedal, stumbling over her words. "I uh…"

"It's okay."

"Tomo, you're too good to me." She let her head slump against his chest as he continued to embrace her.

"I try." He said, leaning his face into her dark hair and planting a light kiss on top of her head. "Hey," he held her at arm's length and searched her face. "Wouldn't you rather walk around and explore than just sit here?" His voice was cheery and uplifting and Tyshi couldn't help but smile a little.

"Yes please." Tomo wound his hand around hers and gently pulled her along through the crowds of people as they walked around the expansive camp.

A few hours later when they were in the middle of exploring the humungous camp, a strange bell rang. Tomo and Tyshi tensed prepared for an imminent attack, but the people around them seemed calm and were all headed in the same direction.

"What's going on?" Tomo asked Tyshi with a confused look on his face. A cute brunette turned to smile at Tomo.

"You must be new. I'm Asami." She held out her hand to him and he shook and then she shook Tyshi's hand.

"Nice to meet you." Tyshi tried to smile.

"I'm Tomo and this is Tyshi." He introduced him both. "Yeah, we're both new. So uh… what's going on?" He watched the people as they all headed the same direction.

"It's dinner time silly. Anytime you hear that bell it's a meal time." She smiled at him. "You two can walk with me and I can show you around after dinner."

"That's real nice, but we already had a tour from Gray Star and we have plans after dinner." Tyshi said giving Tomo's hand a little squeeze.

"Oh." She looked a little disappointed.

"Thanks anyways though." Tomo said, completely oblivious to the discreet exchange happening right in front of him. Asami walked away, blending into the crowd and Tomo and Tyshi followed their lead, getting in a huge line to get food and sitting at one of the hundreds of stone tables set up. This mildly reminded Tyshi of her high school days, but this time, she had friends to sit with… somewhere. They figured it would be near impossible to find Mazuki, Katoram, Juri, Nami and Shiro, so Tomo and Tyshi settled at a table to eat. The stew that Katoram had eaten earlier was what was for dinner again. It was delicious and filling and amazingly, the three giant vats of it fed every one of the nearing five hundred men and women that occupied the camp. When they finished eating, Tomo noticed Gray Star walking towards them with Mazuki, Nami and Katoram following them.

"All finished?" He asked coming up behind them.

"Yeah, that was delicious." Tomo said spooning the last bite of stew into his mouth.

"Good, follow me, we have to round up the rest of your friends before we go to the big boss." Tomo and Tyshi stood and looked at their empty bowls. "Just leave them. Someone will take care of that for you." He started to walk along the rows of tables once more searching for Juri and Shiro.

"You guys missed out!" Katoram exclaimed excitedly.

"They have a magnificent training facility." Nami added smiling broadly.

"There are fire benders there that will blow your mind! Some are run away soldiers like Nami and others are prisoners like me, but I learned a new trick!" Katoram excitedly sent a stream of fire shaped like a dragon dancing around her.

"Wow, that's pretty impressive Katoram." Tyshi said with a small smile.

"Kiyo is the coolest, smartest man I've ever met!" Mazuki jumped in excitedly. "I showed him my inventions and he gave me pointers and I looked at some of his and I'm going to help him!" Mazuki was practically bouncing with excitement.

"Good for you Mazuki!" Tomo exclaimed giving her a side hug as they continued to follow Gray Star. Near the edge of the tables, they found Juri and Shiro talking animatedly with the people around them. Gray Star fetched them and then the entire group went off to the large canvas tent they had visited earlier. The night was growing darker and the camp was lined with lit torches that cast dancing shadows all about them. Walking in the edge of the shows was a blonde giggling obnoxiously loud hanging off the strong build of a man. The woman gave of the air of a bimbo clinging on to any chance of power in the form of a man.

"Sir!" Gray Star called out to the man with the blonde hanging off him like a pretty decoration. The man stopped walking and turned.

"Calen?" Nami exclaimed, her eyes opened wide in shock.

"Looks like you didn't miss us too much." Katoram stated mildly eyeing the blonde hanging on his broad shoulder.

Calen had a look of utter shock on his face. "Nami…? Katoram…? What're… what the hell are you doing here?" He scanned their faces astonished. The blonde woman ran her fingers through his hair and pressed herself closer to him. "Stop it Yuki." He gently pushed the blonde woman away from him and she trailed her fingers seductively down his chest. "Yuki, go find something to do." He ordered impatiently.

"Whatever you say Calen." She winked and blew a kiss at him and slinked off into the darkness.

Tyshi was barely able to process what was going on, and it seemed to hold true for the rest of the group. No one else spoke and just watched him completely shocked and amazed at what they were witnessing; their long lost comrade had been leading an enormous rebellion camp this whole time. Tyshi could feel herself shake and she started to feel lightheaded so Tomo wrapped an arm around her waist supportively.

"So you know each other?" Gray Star asked, just as surprised as the rest of them, looking back and forth. Gray Star's comment was ignored however.

"Calen, what is going on here?" Nami asked, her voice straining.

"Well… here, follow me to my _office_. I'll explain everything." Calen motioned for them to enter the large canvas tent and he nodded to Gray Star, signaling him to leave. Inside the tent were many tables and a desk made of stone and there were maps strewn across all the available surfaces. Calen motioned for them all to sit and they sat in various chairs and benches. Everyone's eyes were locked on Calen, except Tyshi who was staring at the ground trying not to hyperventilate. Calen's green eyes swiftly searched their faces and paused for a brief moment as he watched Tyshi doubled over, staring at the ground and Tomo's arm around her. Tomo was watching Calen stare at them and he had a slightly smug look on his face as he reached for one of Tyshi's hands and stroked his thumb across it lightly.

Calen had been quiet for a while and Katoram cleared her throat impatiently. "Alright you, what the _hell _is going on?"

Calen heaved a sigh as he tore his eyes from Tyshi and Tomo and turned his steady gaze to Katoram. "It's a long story…"

"We don't have anything better to do." Nami said, never taking her eyes off of him.

"Well, when I left on that horse, I went back to the little village where Mazuki had gotten help. I realized after that last raid of our camp we were outnumbered so I went to go round up as much help as I could find. I rode up to the doctor's office and explained what we were planning and how the emperor was going to expand globally. He called a town meeting and I spoke in front of everyone. There I gained about thirty people, benders and non-benders alike. Most of them were prisoners we had freed and they wanted their revenge. That's actually where I met Gray Star, he was the one to tell me where some other places similar to that town where I would find more willing volunteers. Actually, he picked the camp site for the new rebellion camp and he took over patrolling it while I worked off a map of other places to find more people." He paused for a moment and couldn't help but glance at Tyshi again before continuing.

"Word spread fast. There are a lot of disgruntled people out there. I ended up riding all across Japan and some people even took my message to other places I never knew about. This rebel camp grew fast, real fast. By the time I returned, we were about three hundred strong and still expanding. Gray Star is a fantastic organizer; he was essentially the one in charge until I came back. He felt that since I had been the starter of this cause, that I should lead it. I guess the people feel that I work efficiently enough for being only a little over twenty, I spoke to massive amounts of people at a time and they backed me. Now with only about two weeks till we attack, we stand just over five hundred and we have caught many spies that threaten our location and we are ever preparing for the massive attack against the emperor and his empire. Not to mention, I have my friends back." He smiled earnestly at them all, his face a bit strained, taking on the appearance of a war lord rather than their old carefree friend.

"Amazing." Nami said praising him proudly.

"Go Calen." Shiro offered.

"Well, it's good you've been up to something useful, no offense, but this whole time we thought you had just run off and that was the end of that." Mazuki said, smiling to try to lighten the verbal blow.

"Yeah, I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys anything. This plan just formulated so fast and things just kind of got crazier and crazier and I sent out search parties to hunt for more people and I kept hoping they would stumble across you, but they never did, at least until today as I understand."

"That little pipsqueak scared the shit out of us! He was spying in the bushes for who knows how long! He might have even seen us naked when we were taking a bath!" Katoram exclaimed loudly.

"Tyshi caught him and we thought he was a spy for the fire nation. I feel badly now that we treated him so cruelly." Juri lamented.

"In this time, it's necessary to be suspicious and unfortunately, cruelty is part of our way of life right now Juri." Shiro said gravelly trying to console her.

"Well said Shiro." Calen said. They all sat quietly for a moment. Calen checked his watch. "Wow, it's getting late, you're probably all tired. Nami, I'll get you in on the war plans and I'll meet up with you guys tomorrow and we can all catch up or something."

Everyone stood to start shuffling tiredly outside.

"Tyshi…" Calen called before she reached the door to the tent. She didn't turn, but she stopped walking and closed her eyes. "Can I talk to you before you leave?" Everyone stopped and stared between her and Calen, curious as to what would happen.

"Okay." She said quietly. Tomo stayed at her side as everyone else continued to funnel out.

"Alone." Calen's voice was soft yet commanding.

Tomo kept his blue-gray eyes on Calen's hard face suspiciously before he whispered in Tyshi's ear, "I'll wait outside for you." He gave her hand a quick squeeze and a peck on the cheek before following the others out.

Calen sighed and smiled genuinely at her and the air cleared of some of the tension. Tyshi tried to avoid eye contact with him as she stood awkwardly near the door. Calen walked towards her, trying to ignore the fact that she was acting oddly towards him.

"You got a haircut, it looks good." He reached out to run his fingers through her short dark hair, but she pulled away before he could touch her. He let his arm fall back to his side disappointedly. He sighed deeply and backed up to his desk and sat on the edge, giving her some space as she continued to stare at the ground.

"Tyshi…" He cast about for the right words as he watched her with a pained expression. "I'm sorry I left. I know I hurt you… a lot." He added quietly watching her.

"Oh, you mean leaving me for at least the third time and breaking your promises… again?" Her words were like biting arrows shot straight into his heart. "No, I'm fine." Her words were cold and she glared at the ground through angry tears.

Calen looked like he had just been punched in the stomach. "I know… it's just…"

"Just what?" She snapped. "I thought you abandoned us, abandoned me. I thought you had finally stopped caring."

"Ty… I could _never _stop caring about you." By this point he was pleading with her.

"Well you sure fooled me." Tyshi glared at him through wet eyes and whirled angrily for the exit. Calen vaulted off his desk and caught her arm.

"Let go Calen!" She yelled, trying to rip free of his grip.

"No." His voice was hard like the look in his eyes.

"Calen…" She warned.

"Not until you hear my side of the story." He insisted.

"Let go of me." She hissed, still trying to twist out of his grasp.

"Tyshi."

"I'm warning you."

"Just listen to-" He was cut off as her elbow connected soundly with his stomach. She had caught him off guard and he let go. She stalked angrily towards the door, but before she could move the tent flap aside, a stone wall shot up, blocking her way.

"Calen!" She yelled exasperatedly, fresh tears welling in her eyes.

"Just listen." He insisted, massaging his stomach where she had hit him.

"What?" She said angrily as she sat firmly as far from him as she could.

"Tyshi, I had to leave to go get help. You know just as well as I do that if it was just us against the emperor, it was a guaranteed martyrdom. When those soldiers attacked and, and you almost…" He was struggling for words now, his face twisted in pain. "When you almost… _died_… I couldn't… I didn't… I couldn't help you." He rubbed his hand across his eyes tiredly. "I couldn't do anything, I felt so helpless. I thought I was going to lose you. I can't go through that, I _can't_ lose you…" It took him a little while to continue; it looked like he was struggling to keep his composure. "I went to go get help because I can't lose any more people I care about. I went to go get people to attack the emperor together."

Calen chanced a glance at Tyshi. She was trying to seem irritated and looked very conflicted. "Okay, great. Now it's not a complete suicide mission. Can I go now?" She tried to stay angry, but it wasn't working. Her emotions were running rampant and she tried to put a cap on them, but Calen was breaking through her defenses. She had to get out soon before he made things worse. She chastised herself. '_I was just getting over him. I can't let him back in, he's hurt me too many times. It's not fair to Tomo, and it isn't fair to me. I have to get out of here._' She thought getting a bit hysterical.

"No."

"What?" She was a bit shocked and frantic that she couldn't get away.

"Not yet." The hard expression and tone were back and it made her nervous.

"Calen… I'm warning you…" She threatened again, feeling like an animal backed into a corner as he stood and walked towards her again.

"I want to know about you and Tomo."

She was a bit taken aback by the topic change and she couldn't think clearly as he closed in on her. "It's none of your business." She said defensively, standing again.

"It just seems kind of sudden to me." His cold, hard eyes penetrated her and his rigid voice struck a chord deep in her heart.

"Are you implying something?" She demanded, getting worked up again.

"I don't know. I just think it's strange how fast you ran into his arms after I left." He spat, and the words hit home, just as he intended.

Tyshi reeled back as if she had been slapped and stared at him. She couldn't figure out what had happened to the Calen she had once known. Something about him had drastically changed. The words and implications echoed through her head, all of this happening in the span of a few short seconds. Suddenly she lunged forward, her fist slamming into his face with an outraged cry ripping from her throat. Calen looked stunned and slowly raised a hand and felt his lip and looked at his fingers covered in blood.

"For your information I was a real mess after you left!" She screamed at him, the last of her composure snapped and gone. "Tomo actually stood by me! He hasn't hurt me or left me like you did! All he wanted was a chance and so I gave it to him." Tyshi had totally lost all control and all her anger and hurt were spewing from her at a rapid rate and there was no stemming this flow until it was all out. "Besides, you have no right to judge me! Not when you have that blonde _slut_ hanging all over you! Besides, you have no right to act jealous because clearly you never cared in the first place. If you really cared about me, you wouldn't continuously hurt me." Her voice dropped a few octaves. "You wouldn't keep pushing me away, or promising me that you won't leave or hurt me and lying and doing it regardless. You've left me at least three times, I don't know if I can trust you anymore. It's not good for me to be around you anymore if this is what you're going to do to me." Tyshi was crying again and she wiped away the tears angrily and took a deep breath, turning her bloodshot blue eyes on Calen. "Now let me go Calen, I'm done talking to you."

Calen felt like someone had ripped out his heart and stomped it into the ground. "Never cared?" He whispered watching her with pain contorting his handsome features. "Tyshi, everything I do, I do for you. Tyshi… I _love_ you." His green eyes searched her face as he said these words.

Tyshi covered her ears and slumped against the stone door, more tears squeezing from her tightly closed eyes. "No, no… Stop it…" She moaned.

Calen pressed against her, wrapping his strong arms around her, gently pinning her between the wall and his tall, strong body. He brushed the hair behind her ear and whispered, "I love you Tyshi."

"No, stop it!" She squirmed weakly against his hold. "You _don't_ love me! Stop saying that!"

"But I do." He murmured urgently in her ear again, holding fast against her feeble attempts to push him away.

"Why are you doing this to me?" She sobbed into his shoulder. "I can't do this anymore, you've hurt me too many times… I was finally going to get over you!" She pathetically pounded her fists against his chest in frustration, but he held her close and stroked her hair as she continued to cry.

"I know I don't deserve you and I know that you can't trust me, but Tyshi, I can't change the way I feel about you. I love you and that's never going to change." He bent his head and kissed her forehead. "I never meant to hurt you. After this war, if you never want to see me again, I'll understand. I'll leave you alone and you'll never have to see me or be hurt by me ever again." He let his arms drop and he backed up a step, lowered the stone wall blocking the door and turned to walk away from her.

After a few steps, Tyshi ran up behind him and threw her arms around him, hugging him desperately from behind. She buried her face in his back. "Don't leave me. Never leave me… I … I love you too!"

Calen halted in his tracks and stood rigidly. They stayed that way for a little while before Calen finally reacted. He turned in her arms and stared down at her. "What did you say?"

"I love you Calen." She looked up at him pleadingly. Calen cupped her face delicately in his large hands and gazed into her eyes, blue meeting green. "I-" Before she could get another word out, Calen brought his mouth crushing against hers. Tyshi was stunned and didn't react at first so he moved his lips in eccentric patterns around hers until she finally started to kiss him back. She clung to him as tightly as she could and Calen moved one hand to the back of her head and the other on the small of her back, desperately pulling her closer.

Tyshi pulled back a little, gasping for breath, but Calen's lips never left her. They traced their way down her jaw and onto her throat. Tyshi let out a low moan and jerked his head back up and savagely kissed him again, nipping at his lip affectionately and a guttural groan escaped his throat as he picked her up and she wrapped her legs around him. He set her on his desk top, but she kept her legs locked around him.

"I love you." He whispered huskily.

"I love you." She murmured before lacing her fingers through his hair and pulling his mouth back to hers eagerly. After a while, they were both panting for breath. Calen checked his watch and reluctantly pulled away.

"It's late. I should probably get you to bed."

Tyshi pouted, and then a realization hit her. "What about Tomo? And er, _Yuki_." She hissed. Calen chuckled a little as she spat Yuki's name.

"She won't be a problem." He kissed her again. "We were never _an item_ I guess you could say. She just liked the fact that I was in charge."

"And sexy." Tyshi addedlightly tracing his abs under his form fitting shirt.

"Thank you." He kissed her again. "Anyways, she shouldn't be a problem. Tomo though… Well, anyone who loses _you_ is bound to be devastated." Calen grinned and brushed some loose strands of hair behind her ear.

"It's not funny. Calen, he really likes me and I'm just going to ditch him?" Tyshi looked upset, so Calen sobered quickly and reassured her.

"I'll talk to him."

"But…"

"It's okay. It's my fault, so I'll take responsibility and I'll explain things to him, alright?"

"Poor Tomo…"

"It'll be okay." Calen peeked outside the tent. "He's asleep outside. Let's get you to bed and I'll wake him up and explain things to him."

"Be careful."

"Always."

"And nice."

"I'll try." He took her hand in his and pulled her towards the door. "Come on. It's bed time young lady." She stuck her tongue out at him and he winked at her as he led her through the quiet, dark camp. Tyshi enjoyed the feel of her hand in his and she snuggled close into his side. A light warm breeze tousled her hair and blew the familiar, musky and warm scent of Calen towards her which she inhaled eagerly. Calen watched Tyshi as they walked side by side. He was enjoying the effects the bright moon light had as it glanced off her warm features, accentuating her bright eyes and sweet smile. He loved the way the wind ruffled her hair.

"What?" She asked shyly, glancing up at his unrelenting gaze.

Calen just shook his head a little. "Nothing." He stopped and pulled her against him and kissed her deeply. "Good night Tyshi. I love you."

Tyshi looked up and saw that they had stopped outside her tent. "Oh. Good night Calen, I love you too."

"I'll see you in the morning."

"Try to be nice to Tomo, please." She pleaded.

"I will." He kissed her swiftly before parting ways to confront Tomo. Tyshi disappeared inside her tent and settled into her sleeping bag between Mazuki and Juri and fell asleep. Calen started back towards his tent rehearsing for what was to come.

_Tomo, this is going to be hard… no, that's not a good start._

_Tomo, I have to apologize in advance... Maybe, makes it seem like he should be suspicious._

_Tomo, you really like Tyshi, don't you? You want her to be happy, right? Well, I'm sure you realized how hurt… no, I shouldn't use that word… I'm sure you realized how upset she was after I left. I think we both realize that there was something there, something she felt for _me._ Well, I feel the same way about her Tomo. Look, what I'm trying to say is… I love her Tomo, and she loves me too. I'm sorry, I didn't mean for things to turn out the way they did, and I'm sure you're very upset with me right now, but you have to understand, we have to do what's best for Tyshi. What makes her happy, for some reason, is me. I'm sorry you had to get hurt in the process, but I can promise you one thing, man to man. I will _never_ hurt Tyshi ever again. You can count on that._

"Or something like that…" Calen muttered to himself as he neared the tree Tomo had fallen asleep against. Calen reached down and shook his shoulder cautiously. "Tomo." Calen whispered loudly.

"Huh?" Tomo bolted upright rubbing his eyes. "Where's Tyshi?"

"She went to bed."

"Oh…" Tomo was looking a little more alert as he stood and then he eyed Calen warily. "So what were you two talking about this whole time?"

"Well, look, Tomo, you like Tyshi, don't you?"

"Actually, I think I love her."

"Oh, well, you want her to be happy right?"

"I'd never hurt her, if that's what you're implying." He looked Calen up and down guardedly. "Or let anything or _anyone_ hurt her."

"Right…" Calen wasn't really liking the direction this conversation was going. "Well, you see Tomo, I love her too, and I don't think I love her, I know I do. I have for a long time now and I think you know to at least some degree, that she loves me too."

"But you've hurt her so many times, you don't deserve her. She's getting over you after the way you've treated her." Tomo was getting defensive. He didn't like the way Calen was talking and his hands started to clench into fists as his sides.

"But you said you wanted her to be happy, and for some reason, what makes her happy is _me_."

"Yeah, because she sure looked happy when you left her after she almost died. She sure looked _happy _when you showed up again with some bimbo rubbing up on you. You know, you have some _nerve_ saying that you love her and then running off, showing up doing some other slut and then claiming that _you're_ what makes her happy. You're a piece of work." Tomo narrowed his eyes glaring at Calen venomously.

The conversation was spinning dangerously out of control. "Look Tomo, she really cares about you, she doesn't want to hurt you, but do you think it's fair for her to be unhappy and stay with you just so it spares your feelings? That's really selfish and we need to think about what's best for her."

"Selfish? _I'm _the selfish one when you're trying to steal her away from me? Oh yeah, because you have _such_ a good track record of doing what's best for her and making her happy!"

"She doesn't _love_ you." Calen said each word slowly, dangerously, his temper boiling. "And if you think I'm about to hurt her again, you're dead wrong. She chose me over you and I'm not about to screw that up. You can try as much as you want, but when it comes down to it, she'll choose me over you every single time."

"You son of a bitch!" Tomo sucker punched him in the face. After he hit him, Tomo stood there shaking in rage and Calen calmly wiped blood from his face for the second time that night.

"I deserved that, and I'm sorry." Calen fought to control his temper. The last thing he needed was to get in a fight with Tomo. "Tomo, I can promise you this, I will never hurt her ever again, and if I ever do, I will gladly forfeit her to you in good graces and I will disappear forever."

"You ever hurt her again and I swear I'll kill you." He had a murderous look in his eye.

"I give you full permission, but don't hold your breath. I've missed too many opportunities and I've let her slip between my fingers one too many times. I don't plan on letting her get away from me ever again."

"You better not, because I'll be waiting."

"So we have an understanding then?" Calen was surprised Tomo was taking this so well.

"I suppose. But I'm watching you." Tomo warned and Calen extended his hand as a peace offering and Tomo took it in a firm grip and shook.

"Good night Tomo." Calen said with a small smile.

"Night." He responded tightly before stalking off into the night back to his tent with Shiro. Calen returned to his own sleeping quarters and relaxed on his bed for the first time in a long time. He almost felt sorry for Tomo, but his loss was Calen's gain and he felt that he was the happiest and luckiest person alive and couldn't wait for the next day to come to spend with the love of his life.

* * *

Hey guys, it's Sarahplainntall again. Hope you enjoyed this chapter; I'm sure the Calen fans sure enjoyed it, but if you were rooting for Tomo, sorry. I'd like to thank all of my faithful readers for sticking with me so long; there are at least one or two more chapters to come. GrayStar1, you're the BEST and I hope you didn't get offended with what I did in this chapter. : ) Crayola-Writer, thanks for adding me to your favorite stories, you are AWESOME! And ZeroKyon02, I hope I answered your question. If anyone else has Q's/comments or even flames, let me know! Anywho, comments are greatly appreciated and I'll update again soon.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Tyshi awoke the next morning to Juri and Mazuki staring intently at her. She rubbed her eyes tiredly as they watched her with an air of eager impatience.

"So… What happened?" Mazuki said, resting her head in her hands, watching Tyshi.

"And you have to tell us _everything_." Juri emphasized leaning closer.

Tyshi heaved herself into the sitting position and took her time stretching and yawning, drawing out the suspense. "Well… I punched him in the face." She said calmly, trying to keep a straight face.

"What?" Mazuki's eyes bugged out as she stared at Tyshi in utter disbelief.

"You're joking, right? So things _didn't_ go well?"

"Actually…" Tyshi loved stringing them along, and a small smile spread across her lips.

"What, what?" Mazuki said eagerly, leaning very close to Tyshi.

"It kind of started with a fight, then he asked me about me and Tomo and he didn't like the idea of the two of us."

"Poor Calen." Juri cooed sympathetically.

"Oh, don't worry. He said something kind of insulting to me so I punched him in the mouth." Tyshi looked smug as she said this.

"What'd he say?" Mazuki was hanging onto every word Tyshi uttered.

"The jest of what he was getting at was that I moved on to Tomo real fast and some other things were implied and that just sort of made me snap.

"Well deserved." Mazuki said nodding and Juri even nodded in agreement.

"Well, I told him that Tomo was actually there for me, that he hadn't hurt me time and time again, leaving me and breaking promises. I said he had no right to act jealous because clearly, he never cared. Then he told me… well…" Tyshi blushed a little.

"What did he say?" Mazuki was wringing her hands anxiously.

"Word for word, what happened next?" Juri demanded.

"Something along the lines of: everything I do, I do for you. I love you." The words came rushing out and Juri and Mazuki squealed excitedly.

"Shut up! He didn't say love, did he?" Mazuki was practically bouncing she was so giddy and excited.

"He did!"

"I'm so happy for you!" Juri hugged Tyshi.

"Thank you." Tyshi was practically glowing.

"Well what did you say?" Mazuki demanded.

"For a while I was still so upset I tried to get him to take it back-"

"No!" Mazuki gasped, interrupting her.

"But he kept insisting, and then he said if I never wanted to see him again after the war, he'd understand and leave me alone, forever. He started walking away and I couldn't stand the idea of him leaving me, again, forever, so I ran up, hugged him and told him I loved him too!" All three girls were getting so wrapped up in the story.

"Oh my god! It's like the soap operas I used to watch! Except there's no evil twins or sex… there's no sex, right?" Mazuki said.

"No! What kind of girl do you think I am?" Tyshi demanded.

"Hey, if I were in your shoes, I'd take Calen to bed in a heartbeat." Mazuki winked at her playfully.

"Shut up." Tyshi pushed her pillow against Mazuki's face and pushed her backwards lightheartedly.

"Anyways…" Juri said, trying to change the subject. "What happened next?"

"Well, there was a lot of kissing and then I started to worry about Tomo, but Calen said he'd talk to him about the situation. Oh… I hope that went alright. Poor Tomo." Tyshi's face filled with anxious worry once more.

"He'll be fine." Juri said waving her hand dismissively. "Then what?"

"After that, he walked me back here, and that's all, honest."

"Wow Tyshi. You're so lucky. I'm really happy for you." Mazuki said. "How long have you been in love with him?"

"A long time. Things have always been… complicated. I liked him for a long time, then he moved to South Korea and he'd only visit every now and then. I sort of fell in love with him… I don't know when, but it was a long time ago, but we were supposed to be strictly friends… and then stupid Katoram started teasing me about how it looked like we should be dating and I shied away from him and all that stupid bull shit drama and blah blah blah. I'm just so relieved that he's okay, feels the same way and we can get past all the stupid stuff and _finally _be together."

"Awww…. You two are _so _cute!" Mazuki mused, watching her with misty eyes that she dapped with her sleeve. Just then they heard a distant echo of a bell and a bunch of muffled commotion outside their tent.

"Breakfast!" Juri proclaimed cheerily, standing and offering to help the other two stand. The three girls emerged from their tent to find Calen waiting outside, his short brown hair blew in the light summer breeze and he wore jeans and a tight, dark green shirt that accentuated his muscular body.

"Good morning ladies." He greeted them with a broad smile. He moved forward and scooped Tyshi into an intimate embrace and stared into her eyes. "Good morning beautiful." He bent to kiss her deeply. When he pulled away, Tyshi was bright red and Juri and Mazuki were giggling and going aw. "Breakfast?" He asked, gazing into Tyshi's blue eyes once more.

"Mm-hm." She said nodding eagerly, standing on tip toe to kiss him again.

"Come on love birds." Mazuki teased and began to push them in the direction of the rest of the crowd.

"Oh Calen! Your face…" Tyshi said finally registering his appearance, reaching up to stroke his swollen lip and slightly discolored nose. "Did Tomo…?"

"It's fine. It doesn't even hurt. Besides, things are resolved between the two of us, or the three of us. Everything should be fine, don't worry about it, okay?"

"If you say so."

"I'm sorry my brother is…" Juri cast about for a suiting word.

"Stupid?" Mazuki offered with an angelic smile.

"Difficult." Juri amended giving Mazuki a chastising look.

"Not his fault. I screwed this one up. I think I deserved a good punch in the face for stealing his girl out from under him." He draped his arm over Tyshi's shoulder. "It was worth it though." He grinned at her and she smiled back.

"You're so sweet." Tyshi said.

"I try. Oh, should we get the others…?" Calen glanced at the tent that housed Katoram and Nami.

"I'll get them." Juri offered and quickly reemerged with the other two girls following closely.

"No way! You two are _together_ now?" Katoram yelled halting in her tracks and pointing an accusing finger at Calen and Tyshi. Tyshi started to pull away shyly, but Calen clutched her closely and flashed a grin at Katoram.

"About time, right?" As if to further prove his point, he kissed Tyshi passionately and when they heard Katoram making gagging noises, they kissed more in depth, just to gross her out.

"Ew! Quit playing tonsil hockey, I want to eat, but if you keep this up, I'm going to lose my appetite!" Katoram complained.

"_You_ lose your _appetite?_ I didn't think it was possible." Shiro said poking Katoram as he appeared behind them.

"Well look! Doesn't that gross you out?" Katoram asked, spinning to meet his gaze.

"Nah. I think it's sweet. They _finally_ got things figured out." He said with a sly smile as he put an arm around Juri and she looked at Shiro and he winked at her and she blushed.

"Not you guys too!" Katoram cried exasperated.

"I don't know what you're talking about…" Juri mumbled quietly and walked away from everyone else in the direction of the rest of the camp. "Um, let's eat, shall we?"

"Shiro, where's Tomo?" Mazuki asked, looking around the sea of people for Tomo.

"I'm not sure. I woke up and he was gone. His sword was gone too, so I have a hunch he's out training."

"Poor Tomo…" Tyshi said sadly.

"It'll be alright." Nami said reassuringly as she patted Tyshi's arm.

As they neared the communal dining area, they spotted Tomo sitting alone at a table near the edge and they joined him. Everyone chatted merrily as they ate a big breakfast, Tomo sat quietly poking at his food, not eating much. As people slowly filtered out to do their own thing, Gray Star and a few other official looking men and women approached Calen.

"Sir, ready to discuss more war plans?"

"Yes, I'm done here. Nami, would you care to join us?" Calen asked turning from Gray Star to Nami.

"Yes."

Gray Star gave Calen a questioning look. "She used to work for the fire nation as a soldier. A fairly high ranking one too if I do remember correctly. She'll have great insight and she thinks militaristically."

"Yes sir." Gray Star said and the small group departed for Calen's tent to plan strategy for the upcoming attack. Calen briefly kissed Tyshi before leaving, flashing her a parting smile.

Tomo excused himself and mumbled something about training. Katoram drifted off to the North to practice with the other fire benders. Mazuki eagerly ran off to work on more inventions with Kyo and Shiro, Tyshi and Juri were left alone.

"Let's go bend some water Tyshi!" Juri said excitedly, standing from the table. "Do you want to water bend today Shiro, or are you going to work on earth or fire?"

"I'll bend with you two." He said, flashing a smile at Juri and winked and she blushed a little. The three of them head to the west where the water training grounds were. There were vast pools, rivers, patches of ice, areas of dead and dried grass and plants and people everywhere. Tyshi clapped her hands and rubbed them together eagerly.

"Let's get started!"

Juri looked at her surprised. "You don't want to warm up first?" Tyshi shook her head no. "Well, okay then. You and me against Shiro?"

"That's not fair." Shiro muttered.

"No, you and Shiro against _me_."

"Are you sure?" Juri looked at her skeptically.

"Oh yeah. I have a lot of pent up energy I need to get rid of. Don't go easy on me either, okay? I'll try not to hurt you." Tyshi crouched low with a sly smile, preparing for the oncoming attack.

Juri and Shiro exchanged a look and Shiro shrugged. Shiro summoned a stream of water and shot it half heartedly at Tyshi and she immediately caught control and split it in half, sending speeding torrents of water at both Juri and Shiro. Juri dived to the side to avoid the attack and Shiro shot himself into the air. Tyshi gathered the water once more and froze it and shot sharp icicles shooting into the air after Shiro and he ducked into the canopy of the trees, searching for cover. Tyshi chased him from tree top, branch to branch with more icicles.

Juri snuck up behind Tyshi and shot water at her. Just before it hit, Tyshi spun and froze the stream, broke off the tip and sent it hurling back at Juri. Juri dove to the side again, but Tyshi liquefied the water that she had just frozen and sent it washing over Juri, making it wind its way around her torso and legs and freezing her with her hands at her sides. With Juri temporarily nullified, Tyshi turned her attention back to Shiro. Tyshi created tall stepping stones like stairs and she ran up them, leading her high into the trees. When she touched down on a branch high above the ground, she caught a flash of movement behind her and sent a barrage of icicles shooting out behind her, embedding themselves lethally into the bark. Shiro shot out from behind where the icicles had hit and he made a daring leap across the arena to the other end where the trees lined the water bending area. Before he safely made it to the other side, a water whip wrapped around his ankle and froze and suddenly he was flung downwards towards the ground.

"Shiro!" Juri cried out as he was thrown from the height of the tops of the trees. Before he hit, he softened his blow with an air ball. He flopped on his stomach and rolled over and began freeing his ankle. When he looked up, Tyshi was bearing down on him, skating down an ice ramp from the tops of the trees straight for him. His eyes widened in horror as a wall of icicles came hurtling at him once more. Without thinking, Shiro quickly summoned a rock wall just in the nick of time. The thick ice met stone with a thud and the impact was so great that the ends of the ice were sticking out the other side.

Shiro was panting hard and Juri had finally managed to free herself. Tyshi touched down and water flowed over her hands and formed a long, dangerous ice sword that glistened in the afternoon light.

"Come out Shiro!" She called to the stone wall. Juri created a short, round pillar of ice and began to shoot sharp circular discs of ice at Tyshi. Tyshi danced around, avoiding some and using her sword to glance off other projectiles.

"Now Shiro!" Juri cried as she was running low on ice, busy keeping Tyshi focused on her attacks and moving. Shiro stepped out from behind the wall and stomped him foot into the ground and rose his hands, quickly raising a stone platform that launched Tyshi into the air and sent her hurtling for the large pool of water. Tyshi landed with a large splash. Most of the other benders had stopped their own sparring to watch the intensity of the battle going on. Juri and Shiro approached the pool cautiously, prepared for an attack. Tyshi had yet to surface, but as the two of them approached the pool, an enormous tidal wave rose above the surface and came crashing down scattering all the observing benders as they ran for cover. Juri ran but Shiro caught her and launched them into the trees, but out of reach of the huge wave. Surfing the enormous crest of the wave on a piece of ice was Tyshi. She scanned the crowd for her targets and saw them up in the trees. She launched herself up into the trees and jumped agilely from branch to branch, pursuing her objectives. Juri and Shiro ran, branch hoping like Tyshi, trying to stay ahead.

Tyshi created a water whip and broke the branch Juri and Shiro were aiming for and it broke out from under them. They both fell towards the ground and Juri let out a scream. Shiro softened their blow by slowing their fall with his water bending and from above, with the slower falling, Tyshi was given an ample opportunity to create a cage from ice and send it crashing down over Tyshi and Shiro, trapping them within. Before Juri or Shiro could bend the bars, Tyshi landed with a low thud before them, her ice sword formed on both hands thrust through the bars, lightly pressing against their throats.

"I think I win." Tyshi panted lowering her sword and sending the water from the cage and swords back into the pool.

"I think you did." Shiro said, also out of breath.

"Thank god we're on the same side. That was _intense._" Juri said, lightly clutching her chest, breathing heavily as well. They all laughed and suddenly there was a cheering all around them. Timid benders were surfacing from various hiding spots, cheering on the savage battle that had ended with Tyshi as victor.

"That was astonishing!" One woman cried.

"Has to be the best bender I've ever seen." Some man yelled from the crowd closing in around them.

"That guy has to be the avatar, he was water, earth _and_ air bending!"

"_She_ beat the _avatar_?"

"Talk about impressive!"

"The other two were impressive, I don't know how long I'd last against them."

Tyshi brushed her short hair aside and she, Shiro and Juri answered eager questions and were quickly swept up in the hype of the savage battle that had just taken place. Everyone was talking animatedly, asking for tips or help or just praising the three of them in general. Suddenly a familiar voice cried out.

"Tyshi?" A memorable looking girl around the same age as Tyshi with black hair and dark blue eyes pushed her way through the crowd.

"Machiko?" Tyshi asked, looking stunned at her old friend as she pushed through the last of the people. "What are you doing here? Does Calen know you're here? Why aren't you in South Korea anymore? Where's Tomasu and Katsu and Haraki?" A flood of questions came streaming from her as she flashed back to her few weeks spent in South Korea training with some rebel friends who had fled Japan long ago.

"Oh! It's so good to see you! The others are here and I didn't know you were here. I can't believe Calen is behind this whole camp! I keep trying to set up a meeting with him, but he's so busy, I haven't had an opportunity to say hi again. Anyway, Azumo came back with news about the rebel camp forming for an attack and we were all in so Azumo gave us a lift back and now we're here!"

"Wow! It's just so good to see you again!" Tyshi embraced her old friend.

"I know! I've missed you and Calen so much. And look at you! Battling the avatar and kicking ass! You've improved a ton since last I saw you, now I definitely don't stand a chance against you."

"Oh, yeah, we met up while freeing prisoners around Japan and I've had a lot of practice over the years."

"You cut your hair too! It looks cute on you that short."

"Oh, thanks. This was kind of a last minute discussion. Hey, eat dinner with us tonight, I'll introduce you to the rest of our group and you can say hi to Calen."

"That sounds great! You know, I'm so happy you two have stuck together through all this. You two were always so cute together, it's a shame you were never _together_, I hope I'm not being to forward, but you guys would make an adorable couple!"

"Thanks… actually…" Tyshi grinned.

"Nu-uh! Seriously? You two are dating now?"

"Only as of recently." Tyshi and Machiko lost themselves in conversation as did Juri and Shiro. The water bending arena was full of excitement due to recent development. For the rest of the day up till dinner, Tyshi found herself busy catching up with Machiko and teaching other benders some of her harder to master moves.

* * *

Nami and Calen along with their entourage of intimidating looking men and women strode confidently through camp to the large canvas tent that served as the war planning head quarters. Calen took the head seat at the table and bended another chair for Nami as everyone sat at the long stone table covered in maps and strategy plans.

"Alright Nami, let me play catch up for you real quick. You're aware of the layout and geography of the emperor's palace, correct? The enormous four-walled mansion is in the center of down town Japan, surrounded by expansive gardens and lawns enclosed in a wrought iron fence frequently patrolled by soldiers. As you're aware, our camp is more or less divided into four parts, water benders, earth benders, fire benders and non benders." Nami nodded along, her eyes riveted to Calen as he spoke with the air of a leader. Calen had taken well to leadership, it suited him well. "Anyway, our plan thus far is to tunnel beneath the city and emerge in four parts, each group stationed outside a different wall and work our way in. Each group will be led by a significant combatant from each group. Once through the assigned wall, we close in and eventually over power the emperor and the revolution begins. We free all of Japan from the emperor's oppressive ways and prevent him from contaminating the rest of the world with his views."

"Impressive." Nami said appreciatively leaning back in her seat.

"Our source says we have twelve days before the emperor decides to launch his world wide campaign. That means he'll be in his palace trying to organize all of his troops to ship out and that should provide us with our most opportune moment to strike." A narrow but daunting woman who sat next to Gray Star reported.

"Any input would be greatly appreciated." Calen said, gazing calmly into her amber eyes and waiting patiently for Nami to compose a report.

"Well…" Nami straightened in her seat, her old military training kicking in again. "I've worked with the emperor and his highest general before and trust me, they are no fools. They will know that in twelve days they'll be at their most vulnerable, but they'll be prepared. Don't underestimate them, that would be a lethal mistake." Nami's eyes flashed briefly as a wave of rage overtook her for a moment. "Their technology is advanced and he will still have a fair number of troops protecting his palace. He'll keep both benders and expert marksmen with him as a protective measure. He'll have both outer and inner centennials so once you get through the outside soldiers, there'll be another round of soldiers within the walls." Now Nami reached for a spar bit of paper and a pen lying near her and she paused briefly to look at Calen, silently asking permission and he nodded. She began to draw a schematic drawing of the layout for the emperor's palace.

"Here…" She circled a small square chamber on the top floor. "This is the emperor's bed chambers and this…" She drew a circle around a larger adjacent room. "This is his_ throne_. He'll be in one of the two places, but they're well protected being so deep within the walls, they planned that well for themselves."

Gray Star crossed his heavy arms and exhaled in displeasure. Calen squinted at the blue print Nami sketched. "You're sure of these layouts Nami?"

"Yes."

"How?" A skeptical man scoffed, looking from the sketched layout to Nami.

Nami straightened stiffly in her chair and stared calmly at the man. "I used to serve as many things when I worked as a soldier for the fire nation. One of the many posts I fulfilled was body guard to the emperor." Urgent whispers hissed around the table and Calen impatiently slammed his hand down on the table.

"Nami is a trusted member of this rebellion. As a fact, if not for her, I'd still be rotting in prison. There is to be _no_ questioning of her allegiance, understood?" He turned a hard glare around the room, carefully focusing on each face.

"Yes sir." Was the mumbled response from all parties and Nami sat a little straighter, almost looking smug.

"Nami, can you provide us with blueprints for the rest of the palace?"

"Yes sir." She addressed him as the others had and Calen gave her a warm smile.

"Fantastic."

"Sir, may I make a few suggestions?" Nami asked.

"Certainly."

"Well, you have a superfluous number of water benders I believe their healing abilities will be invaluable to our upcoming battle. I understand that all the benders here may not be trained in such skill set so I recommend making a class to teach that and then having a handful of healers in each of your four attacking groups to act as medic."

Calen's eyes grew wider as that thought had never dawned on him or any of the others sitting around the table. "Brilliant Nami." He whispered, awed. "I'll be sure to do as much. Anything else?"

"Yes sir." Calen waited for her to continue. "I believe that we should take full advantage of having the avatar on our side. I've heard stories of the unsightly power the avatar can harness when in the avatar state, but if Shiro were unable to reach such a point, he'd prove very useful gliding above and act as messenger between groups, reporting regularly to each of the leaders with progress reports. I'm also told by your inventors apprentice that they are creating some high tech weapons, perhaps some can be harnessed and used to a point where they can be dropped from above. The roof is the fastest entry point to the emperor, seeing as how his bedroom and throne are on the top floor."

Calen rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he mulled over Nami's suggestions.

"Sir?" Gray Star interrupted.

"Yes Gray Star?"

"I could relay this request to Kyo and his apprentice after this meeting if so desired."

"That would be greatly appreciated, thank you."

"Sir?" An older, lean man in his thirties with dusky blonde hair asked.

"Lee?"

"While Gray Star is attending to the matter of weapons for the avatar, I would be more than happy to orchestrate a meeting of the water benders for a mass lesson in healing."

"Thank you Lee." Calen looked at the sly man seated next to Gray Star. "Makoto?"

"Sir?" He asked, looking at Calen expectantly.

"Thanks to Nami and her group, we have far more fire arms for your fellow non benders. Isn't that good news?"

"Yes sir." The man said begrudgingly, averting his eyes to stare at the table.

"I would like you to disperse such weapons after dinner and make sure those who receive them know how to work them properly. The last thing we need is ill-prepared men and women entering a battle they are not ready for."

"Yes sir."

"Well, I believe that we have made great progress. By next meeting, after dinner, Nami will have a layout of every floor and we can truly begin discussing strategy before working with our rebels by morning."

"Yes sir." Everyone murmured in unison before rising and exiting the tent. Nami remained seated and she eagerly started sketching the floor plans for the various floors to the emperor's palace.

Calen watched her for a few minutes until a distant bell rang in the distance and Nami made no move to get up. "Well… I guess I'll meet you at dinner, okay?" Nami just nodded and Calen excused himself. Eagerly, Calen strode to dinner at the table he, Tyshi and the others had taken to sitting at. Juri, Shiro, Tyshi and a few familiar faces were already seated, talking excitedly amongst themselves.

"Hi." Calen greeted Tyshi, sitting next to her, wrapping his arm around her and kissing her on the cheek.

"Calen!" She exclaimed excitedly. "Look who I found!" She eagerly jerked the arm of a thin girl, pulling her around so she could show him.

"Machiko?" He said startled and he stood to embrace her. "Wow! What're you doing here?"

"What else? Kicking some fire nation ass!" She said with a coy smile.

"But how…?"

"Azumo."

"Should have known." Calen said smiling to himself.

"Aw… Calen, I'm so happy you two finally got your act together. You're _so_ cute!" Machiko exclaimed, pushing him back towards his girlfriend.

"Wait, you're dating the leader of the rebel camp? No wonder you're so bad ass!" A young boy closer to Shiro's age if not younger exclaimed, staring wide eyed at Tyshi with what could only be described as reverence or idle worship.

"Um… Ty… who's this?" Calen said raising his eyebrow and appraising the young water bender. Tyshi blushed, a little embarrassed now as Calen noticed the staggering number of awe struck water benders watching Tyshi.

"Fan club?" She said shyly.

"Okay, now I'm lost."

"Calen, Tyshi has gotten _so_ good! I think she's the best water bender I've _ever_ seen!" Machiko exclaimed. "For being as young as she is, it's quite impressive that she just might very well be the _best_ water bender in camp!"

Calen turned to Tyshi wide eyed. "Seriously?"

"Don't look so surprised. Heart break does a lot for your bending intensity." She said elbowing him hard in the ribs. Calen's face turned a little red and he looked down at the table ashamed and Tyshi snared him under the chin and brought his face to hers for a kiss.

"Seriously Calen, when you were gone, no one wanted to spar with her, she was just plain scary. Not even _Nami_ wanted to go against her." Shiro told him.

"Yikes."

"Today she kicked me and Juri's ass." Juri nodded in agreement.

"Simultaneously?"

"Oh yeah." Juri said.

"Remind me to never piss you off." Calen said eyeing Tyshi.

"Shut up. So, speaking of Nami, where is she?" Tyshi asked.

"Still working on war plans."

"She sure is devoted." Shiro said looking around for Tomo, Mazuki or Katoram. "I can't imagine Tomo or Katoram would miss a meal. Mazuki's probably so absorbed in her work she didn't even hear the bell, but I don't even see Tomo or Katoram."

"No offense Tyshi, but I understand if Tomo's still out there working out his… _frustrations_." Juri said.

"I'm really sorry Juri, I never meant to hurt him, it's just-"

"Don't worry about it." Juri cut her off. "He'll come around soon enough. Don't worry about Tomo, he bounces back pretty quick." Shiro nodded in agreement as he grabbed a role and tore hungrily into it.

All of a sudden, a dark and hulking figure seated themselves heavily on the bench across from Juri, Shiro, Tyshi and Calen. "Hi."

"Katoram?" Tyshi said stunned. It was hard to tell it was her under all the blackened soot crusted onto her skin and clothes.

"Hard day training?" Juri asked.

"More like hard day getting her ass kicked…" Shiro muttered under his breath.

"Shut up. So I took a few hits, I still won. I think…" She rolled up her sleeve, revealing some clean cloth and ran it over her black face, wiping away some of the soot. After a few minutes of scrubbing she gave up and left the dark streaks on her face as she began stuffing bread into her mouth at an astonishing rate. Dinner was served and everyone ate with gusto and half way through the meal, Nami joined them and began discussing technique with Katoram. Everyone was engaged of conversations varying in subject from romantic, to strategic to even a few death threats from Katoram aimed at Shiro. Dinner was just about over when Gray Star approached their table.

"Sir…"

"Time already?" Calen asked, glancing around and Gray Star nodded. "Alright."

"What…?" Tyshi asked and Calen just smiled and kissed her quickly before running to the front of the _dining room _and bended a stone platform underneath himself.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, benders and non benders, rebels alike…" a hush fell over the crowd as they turned their attention to the earth bender addressing them. "I'd like to thank you for your… _revolutionary_ _patriotism_." A snicker rolled through the crowd and Calen continued gallantly with a wide smile. "You all know our time is near, twelve days actually is when we'll strike…" the crowd broke into loud cheers. Calen waited for people to quiet down before continuing. "I believe that as your leader, you are not thoroughly prepared for battle unless you know the plan. Tomorrow at 8 am sharp, I want you to be at your designated training area for specifics, but the general plan thus far is each of the four groups will be assigned a wall to the emperor's palace and forces will take the fortification and eventually we move in and take down the emperor!" Loud cheering erupted throughout the crowd now.

"He's good, the crowd _loves_ him." Machiko muttered, lightly elbowing Tyshi.

"No kidding." Tyshi said, her eyes riveted to him.

"I know some of you are ill at ease, but I want to reassure those of you. As I said before, tomorrow in the morning in your designated training area, some of my _generals_ will go over the specifics of your group. I will be in charge of the earth benders. Lee will instruct the water benders." Calen raised the young blonde man up on a platform and he gave a brief wave before being lowered back to the ground. "The leader of the fire benders will be Nami." Nami looked a bit surprised, but she stood and Calen raised her above the rest of the crowd on a stone podium. "Gray Star will be charged with all non benders," he too was lifted "and Makoto will be the ammunition/weapons specialist for the non benders." The thin angry looking man was raised next to Gray Star as well.

"Aside from some specific directions and one on one work and help, I wanted to reassure you that fate is on our side. We are truly blessed to be aided with such a commanding force… today we are joined by none other than the _avatar_." A hushed whisper spread through the crowd. "Shiro, please join me." Calen stood tall and motioned toward the table Shiro was seated at. The crowd turned to watch and Shiro gulped, stood and glided towards the front where Calen stood and he earth bended a platform for him to land on.

"A small demo perhaps Shiro." Calen whispered and Shiro nodded. He bended the pillar back into the ground and kept himself aloft with an air ball. He then water bended a pillar similar to the stone one he had just been on and stood on that and shot flames out over the crowd. When he finished his demo, the crowd erupted in loud cheering and yelling, some even rose to their feet.

"As you can see, there is no stopping us now!" Calen cried to the eager people. "We are unstoppable in number, spirit, skill and with the help of all of you and the avatar, the emperor's reign of tyranny is finally coming to an end!" More cheering and Calen lowered himself and made his way back to his table, being stopped here and there by people wanting to personally congratulate him. It took him a long time to make his way back and the camp dispersed in loud, triumphant groups. That night was one of high spirits and celebration throughout the rebel camp.

"Calen! That was amazing! When did you learn to lead and give speeches like that?" Tyshi asked, running into his arms and greeting him with a passionate kiss and hug.

"I dunno… practice I guess?" Gray Star approached again.

"Sir, the matter of Kyo…"

"Oh yes, I nearly forgot. What would I do without you Gray Star?"

"Hell if I know." He muttered as he walked off.

Calen turned to Tyshi apologetically. "Sorry, official business to attend to. That's one downside of this position, no down time."

"I understand. Hey, if you see Machiko, make sure she ate something. If you don't get that girls attention every now and then, I'd bet the poor thing would starve to death. Oh! And make sure she comes back to sleep tonight, she needs to get her rest one way or another."

"Will do." Calen said before kissing her and parting ways with Gray Star.

"Katoram, I'm heading to take a shower, want to come with?" Nami offered eyeing Katoram's soot encrusted clothes and skin.

"Sure."

"There's a place to take a shower?" Tyshi asked.

"Oh yeah, come with us." Juri said and the large group of girls got up and walked off to a corner of camp with tall stone stalls that contained bars of soap and there were a bunch of water benders waiting to bend water over the stone stalls for people wanting a shower.

* * *

Mazuki looked up from her soldering as a stone plate filled with food was set before her.

"Eat." Calen said with a gentle smile.

"Let me just finish-"

"Mazuki…" Calen warned, raising an eyebrow.

"You should eat something dear, you skipped lunch." Kyo said wiping his hands on a red rag coming around to shake Calen's hand. Mazuki set her soldering torch down and obediently began eating. "To what do I owe the honor?"

"I wanted to see the progress you were making." Calen said with an easy smile, looking around the crowded workshop lit by strong halogen lamps hanging from the walls.

"Ah, Gray Star warned me that you'd be gracing us with your presence later to discuss plans of the invasion."

"Good man that Gray Star."

"So what can I do you for?"

"Well, I was just wondering what you have so far." Calen asked, walking around the room examining various contraptions hanging from the walls and ceiling and resting on tables.

"We have a lot of things. This," he motioned to a long cylindrical object that resembled a potato launcher "is a handy little thing when it comes to getting through walls if you don't have a giant boulder to smash through it." His dark eyes twinkled as a smirk played at the corner of his mouth as he watched Calen as he proudly explained his devices.

"What does it do?"

"It launches these." He held up a small disk looking thing. "And this is a projectile explosive. You shoot it out of this _cannon_ and it should lodge itself or stick to any surface guaranteed and when you hit the detonator," he held up a small remote with a large red button "it blows the wall to pieces in a controlled blast equaled to about ten sticks of dynamite."

Calen picked up the launcher and turned it over in his hands and held it up as if to aim.

"Very easy to use, light, portable and we have about seven with three explosive disks per launcher."

"Wonderful, what else?"

"We have some scramblers to jumble technology like their radar, computers, essentially any smart technology that would be bad for us." Kyo's eyes shone with a calm excitement as he further explained. Mazuki was less contained in her enthusiasm as she hoped up from where she was sitting and grabbed Calen's hand and led him around.

"This is a heat detector, it can see through walls, so it can show you the body heat of people so you can see how many and where!" Mazuki explained, talking quickly. She continued to drag Calen around the shop and feverishly show Calen other weapons like different bombs, guns or other things to aid in a brutal battle.

When Mazuki had run out of things to show him Calen explained the general battle plan of tunneling, surrounding the emperor's estate in four parts, assaulting the walls from all sides while keeping in contact and using Shiro to help coordinate and Calen's hopes of Shiro getting to the emperor through the roof which was the closest and easy point to get to him.

Kyo looked thoughtful for a moment. "So, you say that the throne room and his bed chambers are centrally located on the top floor?" He stroked his beard a moment, deep in thought. "Do you know how thick the ceiling is or what it's made of?"

"I could only guess. I don't have very definitive answers."

Kyo nodded again and Mazuki spoke. "Despite what it's made of, it shouldn't be a problem for our C-4 or nitroglycerin compounds with a little black powder."

"True." He said, seeming unconcerned. "But if you're relying so heavily on the avatar, looks like we should turn our intentions to him as well. Can he enter the avatar state?"

"I don't know…" Calen looked unsure now and a bit worried.

Kyo clapped him on the shoulder dismissively. "No worries my friend. We'll cover Shiro and you can put your avatar concerns to rest.

"I knew I could count on you." Calen smiled and started to leave. As he reached the door he stopped and looked at Mazuki. "Make sure you find your way back to your bed tonight. Tyshi's worried about your well being."

"Will do." She said with a teasing little salute and Calen left to join the rest of his commanding forces to nail down the details of the invasion to instruct the rebels in the morning.

* * *

A bell rang at 7:30, waking the people and gathering them for a quick breakfast. After everyone ate, they all disbanded to their respected corners.

To the north all the fire benders walked out to the sparse and scorched training grounds with Nami in the lead, closely followed by Katoram and two of Calen's other fire bending generals. Once everyone had gathered, Nami agilely scrambled to the top of a stone pillar that normally served as a target but would now be used as a stage.

"Good morning my fellow fire benders, my name is Nami." She calmly scanned the still crowd. "Today, we are to discuss war tactics so you are thoroughly prepared for battle in eleven days."

Nami knelt on her stone pillar and burned a layout into the rock and stood once more, motioning to her work. "This is a rough sketch of the layout of the emperor's residence. The earth benders will tunnel us in for the property is gated and guarded with regular sentries. They will tunnel us to the north wall of the palace and then take their place at the eastern wall. We will have some water benders aiding us as paramedics in case anyone is wounded. Please, if anyone is down, cover them while they are being healed."

A young man raised his hand and Nami pointed to him, giving him the floor to speak. "Why not just tunnel straight into his mansion?"

"Good point, but the outer most walls and the base floor are all made of eight inch steel plates and the earth benders can't tunnel through that and if they tried, we'd be trapped like rats under their feet and it would be easier to dispose of us."

The young man nodded, satisfied his question had been answered. An older woman now raised her hand. "If the walls are so well fortified, how are we expected to get in?"

"I've been informed that our rebel inventor has come up with some explosive weaponry, and I'd expect the guards that will be holding us off have to come out _somewhere_, we'll just need to find their entrance and storm it. If all else fails, we melt the walls."

"That's suicide!" Someone cried from the crowd and there was a bunch of unsettled grumbles spreading throughout.

"I'd rather be a martyr than a slave." Nami said sternly, straightening proudly and clenching her fists firmly at her sides. "Is that not why we're here? To fight for our freedom?" The crowd fell silent and she stared across the mass of faces. "Some sacrifices must be made. I don't expect you to give your life. Of course melting the walls is a last resort plan, but if you don't give your all in this fight, you will die. These soldiers will _not_ hesitate to kill you." A hollowed hush settled over the benders. "I've been in battle and there is no glory to it, but I was raised to fight for what I believe, and I believe that Japan's self claimed _emperor_ is a disease that needs to be exterminated."

There was a heavy silence and Katoram took a step forward and began clapping. People looked at her oddly and Nami looked down and gave Katoram a grateful smile as slowly, everyone began clapping as well.

* * *

To the west, Tyshi, Juri and Machiko drifted with the huge crowd of water benders to the training arena. Everyone gathered around a blonde man with gray-blue eyes as he made himself a pillar of ice to stand upon and speak to the rest of the benders.

"Can everyone hear me?" People near the back nodded or gave him a thumbs up. "Good. So as you all know, the invasion is in eleven days and our leader wants us to be well prepared so he has instructed us to inform everyone of his plan of attack. We will take the western wall of the manor once we are tunneled in. However, some of our forces will be divided. Thirty of our best healers will be stationed."

The crowd broke out in side conversations and Lee raised his hand to quiet them. "I know you're worried about depleting of our numbers, but I assure you, we have the most in numbers aside from the earth benders and they will be taking the main entrance of the southern wall. So ten healers will be stationed with the earth benders and fire benders and non benders to act as emergency paramedics during the battle."

Lee looked out across the sea of people. "So… how many people know how to heal, raise your hand." About half the benders raised their hand including Tyshi, Machiko and Juri. "Okay… now how many people are well practiced healers that really know what they're doing?" Juri and Machiko's hand fell as did about two thirds of the rest of the crowd that had currently had them up. Only Tyshi and a handful of others kept theirs in the air.

"Well then, I was afraid of that… No matter, can those of you that still have your hand up teach others?" They all nodded. "Perfect. Those who did not keep their hand up, find someone who has theirs in the air. Today, we will be learning to heal; trust me, it's going to prove to be essential for this upcoming… _event_."

Everyone grouped up and practiced healing for the rest of the morning as Lee walked around and supervised.

* * *

On the opposite side of camp, Calen was pacing as he waited for the earth benders to join him and once they joined him, he jumped onto a large boulder in the center of the rocky terrain of the earth benders training area.

"Let me start by saying thank you so much for your support. I knew I could count on my fellow earth benders to be brave, courageous and to stand up against the wrongs in this world, namely the emperor." Most of the men and women gave a quick cheer. "Now, down to business; we will be the ones to tunnel everyone in. I'll assign forty men and women, ten per group, to tunnel into the emperor's grounds. Fire benders are going to the north wall, water to the west, non benders to the east and we'll be taking the main entrance on the southern end. There's a large door made of steel that we have to get through. I figured that wouldn't be a problem for all of you." Calen announced with a smug grin on his face.

"But sir! Why not just tunnel _all_ the way in?"

"Outer perimeter is steel as well and we'd draw a lot of attention to ourselves if we tried to pound our way through to the bottom. It's best not to draw attention to ourselves until the last possible moment." Some people nodded in agreement. "Anyways, the emperor's _dogs_ will be heavily armed, but I know that won't scare you away. However, if anyone is injured, we will have water bending healers." Some of the women looked relieved as they looked at others with a smile of reassurance.

"Anyway, I believe our best chances of fighting effectively will be systematic boulders being hurtled against the wall. Then I want other benders to cover them with stone walls and I want others acting as… _snipers_ for lack of a better word. I want those people to pick off the guards with small, fast rocks, preferably to the head. We'll work as a team, some to break in, others to cover everyone defensively and the rest to act as offense against the emperor's men. I want us to practice these together so we'll be well rehearsed for the real thing eleven days from now."

Calen then orchestrated everyone into three different parts. He had the defensive wall people make thick walls to serve as targets for the boulder smashers. It almost became a competition to see which team would win. The smashers tried to break down a wall and the barrier people tried to keep it erected and well fortified. Then he had the rest of the wall men and women go against the snipers. The snipers tried to get around the wall or through it with their rocks, while the others tried to block their shots and keep their barriers intact. After a few hours, they were learning to work together and more effectively at that.

* * *

Mazuki spotted Tomo standing stiffly with his arms crossed staring at Gray Star and Makoto elevated on top of stands so they could speak to the crowd of non benders to the south of camp.

"Hey Tomo!"

"Hey Mazuki, long time no see." He said without looking at her. His voice was flat and his eyes were hard as he stared straight ahead, his strong arms folded tightly across his chest, the muscles jumping and twitching every now and then.

"Sorry to hear about you and Tyshi."

"It's fine." His eyes tightened a little.

"At least she's real happy now." Tomo gave a rigid nod. "Well… I know it's not the same, but if you want, I could take you on a date to the movies or something after all this is over… or something…" Mazuki bit her lip nervously and Tomo very slowly turned to look at her.

"Seriously?"

"Uh-huh…" She gave him a flirtatious smile and smiled a little now, his whole demeanor lightening significantly.

"Okay."

"Great!" She bounced up and kissed him on the cheek and Tomo blushed a little. "Aw, you're so cute Tomo!"

"Rebels! I'm glad to see some people out there value their freedom!" Gray Star's powerful voice echoed across the clear area, quieting the chatter of the crowd. "Our great leader Calen wants us to tell you the plan for eleven days from now."

"Eleven days from now we're gonna kick some ass!" A young teen boy cried from the crowd and everyone cheered.

"Correct." Gray Star said with a smile. "In eleven days, the earth benders will tunnel us in, we'll be stationed on the east wall. We'll be fitted with all manors of weapons and we'll take the eastern wall by force. Some water benders will be aiding the hurt and our very own Kyo has come up with several guns and explosives to help us accomplish our goal."

"I helped too." Mazuki told Tomo and he smiled down at her.

"Now, I don't want any morons blowing themselves up, so Makoto here is going to show you with the help of Kyo how to work these weapons. Oh and before I forget, thanks to the avatar's group for bringing us about fifty new guns and ammo." The crowd cheered loudly and Tomo and Mazuki exchanged smug smiles. The rest of the afternoon, weapons were dispersed and Makoto, Mazuki and Kyo instructed massive groups how to handle themselves and the new armory they now possessed.

* * *

Shiro had been meditating in Calen's office, trying desperately to get in contact with the spirit world or one of the avatars from the past to give him advice. He sat on Calen's stone desk with his legs crossed and his hands resting in his lap, his eyes closed as he tried to let his mind go blank and will the spirit world at the same time. He sat there for about an hour breathing slow and deep.

He thought he heard something and thinking he had reached the spirit world he peeked out. Saji was sitting on the desk, his little furry monkey legs folded like Shiro and his hands in the same meditation position, watching Shiro and chattering quietly.

"Oh come on!" Shiro yelled, throwing his arms in the air in frustration. Saji jumped back startled as Shiro swung himself off the desk top and paced anxiously. Saji jumped to his shoulder and Shiro picked him up and held him out in front of him.

"Why can't I do this?" He asked Saji, but the monkey just stared back at him. "I need to be able to get into the avatar state when the battle begins! What if someone gets hurt? What if someone I care about dies? What if we can't win? It'd be all my fault!" Shiro went into a panic attack, hyperventilating and pacing madly. In the middle of his freak out, a bell rang, signifying it was lunch time. Shiro took a few deep breaths before leaving the tent for the dining area.

* * *

Calen was eating lunch with some earth benders and his friends when Shiro ran up, breathless and his shaggy brown hair falling into his panic stricken eyes. "Can I talk to you… alone?"

"Uh, sure. Is everything alright?"

"Come on." Shiro waved him into the trees. "I can't reach the spirit world or get into the avatar state!" His voice was high and distraught. He only realized he had grabbed Calen's shirt front and was shaking him when Calen calmly pried his hands off.

"Easy buddy. I'm sure it's fine."

"It's not fine! We're doomed!"

"Woah woah woah…" Calen held him steady grabbing his shoulders. "Deep breaths." Shiro involuntarily breathed deep. "There you go… You just need to calm down Shiro. We're all in this together, don't try to put such a big load on your shoulders. We're all here to help you carry this massive responsibility. Besides, when the time comes, you'll know what to do and you'll be able to do what needs to be done. Alright?"

Shiro nodded. "Okay."

"I'm pretty sure if you stress too much, it won't help any, so come back and enjoy some lunch and later you can work with Kyo. He's cooked up some stuff just for you that should help."

"Okay." Shiro stared down at his large hands which he was kneading together nervously.

"Relax." Calen patted him on the back and led him back to lunch and sat him next to Juri.

"What was all that about?" Juri asked Shiro.

"Just some pre-battle anxiety, he's fine now." Calen quickly explained dismissively. Juri looked questioningly at both of them and shrugged and continued eating. Once lunch was over, everyone divided up into the groups they had been in earlier, but as everyone was leaving, Juri caught Shiro's arm and dragged him off to the side.

"Are you okay? You look a little pale and you've been acting weird."

"No, I mean, yes. I'm fine."

"Shiro…?"

Shiro sighed in defeat and slumped against a tree. "I worried about this upcoming fight."

"It'll be fine Shiro. We have plenty of rebels and healers and everyone is preparing."

"But what if it all goes wrong? I don't think… What if I can't help?"

"What do you mean?" Juri asked worriedly putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Juri…" He turned to stare into her big blue eyes. "I can't…"

"Can't what?" She searched his tortured gaze.

"I'm probably the worst avatar of all time. I can't even meditate properly to get in touch with the spirit world or the previous avatars. I need their advice and help… I can't do this on my own…"

"You're not on your own though Shiro. We're all here to help you."

"But you shouldn't be! What if something happened to someone? I have this horrible feeling that someone's going to die and that I'm powerless to stop it!" Shiro was frantic again.

"Shiro, we all knew there'd be risks-"

"No!" Shiro grabbed her shoulders vehemently. "I'm not willing to take those risks, especially not with you!"

"Wha-?"

"Juri," Shiro cut her off, holding her tightly. "I love you."

"What?" Juri's eyes widened and she tried to back away but Shiro's grip on her shoulders was strong. She hadn't realized he was that strong and then she noticed he was inching closer to her.

"Shiro, I-" She was cut off again as Shiro pulled her closer and kissed her. She blinked rapidly, surprised and when Shiro released her, he looked up at her startled expression and backed away, staring at the ground ashamed.

"I'm sorry… I don't know what I was thinking… I…" He turned to walk away but Juri caught his arm.

"Shiro, it's okay." She hugged him and Shiro slowly responded, astonished. "I know you're worried about what will happen, but it'll be fine. And…"

"And?" His miserable expression turning hopeful.

"And… Shiro… I really care about you too. I never really thought about you like that, but… after all we've been through… I think that I love you too."

"Really?" Shiro's eyes widened and a large grin spread across his face. He wrapped his arms around Juri and dipped her while kissing her once more. When Shiro put her back on her feet, Juri was blushing.

"Oh… well… I guess I'll see you later, okay?"

"I can't wait." Shiro said kissing her hand. Juri tried hard to stop blushing as she went back to the west and Shiro strutted proudly with a satisfied grin as he made his way to the building Kyo was waiting for him in.

"Ah, Shiro! Good to see you!" The older man greeted him warmly, shaking his hand.

"You must be Kyo."

"That I am. Come, let me show you what I have in store for you." Kyo led him to the back of the building and showed him to an array of objects. "We have a few bombs to allow you to get through the roof." He motioned to a long row of small metal spheres. "Now I'm sure Calen explained what he had in mind for you correct?"

"Well, vaguely."

"Ah, well, he wants you to keep an eye on things from above; you know keep everyone in contact and up to date on how everyone else is doing and give them an edge is need be. Then, once the walls are breached, he wants you to strike immediately from above and make your move on the emperor and the rest of them will back you up shortly after. Anyway I'm sure you'll truly appreciate this, this took quite a bit of work and ingenuity." He pulled out a big metal rectangle.

"What's that?"

"Glad you asked. That is a platform that hovers. I figured that while you're doing your air patrols, this would be a nice base to work from."

"Wow, cool! It really hovers?"

"Rather well actually. It seems to do better at higher altitudes actually, so the higher you go, the better it seems to want to function. Also," He pulled out a light metal pole and taped the bottom on the ground and it transformed itself into a glider.

"Sweet, you even made me a new glider!"

"That I did. Complete with a snack compartment in case you get hungry!" He smiled an odd quirky smile and twisted the hand grips and a small compartment opened and he caught some trail mix in his mouth. Kyo then moved on to explain how the various explosives worked and showed off the other inventions he had made for Shiro.

The rest of the day was spent training for everyone in the camp until it was dinner time. People from all over came pouring into the open area with hundreds of tables and they seated themselves amongst friends and fellow benders, talking excitedly and eating with enthusiasm. Tyshi and Calen sat together, kissing occasionally, Shiro put his arm around Juri and she blushed and Mazuki snuggled into Tomo's side giggling flirtatiously. Katoram stared at them in mock disgust.

"Oh gross! What is going on here? Is _everybody_ hooking up?"

Nami observed quietly as everyone broke into their fervent explanations.

"Well, we've been through so much…" Juri started.

"I've liked her for a long time…" Shiro defended.

"He's just so adorable and sexy…" Mazuki gushed.

"I'm just happy to have a girlfriend again and she is really cute…" Tomo said.

"Nothing new here." Calen said as he kissed Tyshi.

"Ugh, all this gooey romance crap is going to make me sick!" Katoram stuck a finger down her throat and pretended to throw up all over the table.

"Nah, you're just jealous Mazuki beat you to this." Tomo said with a cocky smile and flexing.

"Oh god, now I'm really going to be sick!" Katoram cried, slumping on the table and Tyshi laughed.

They all shared a leisurely dinner, talking animatedly about what they had done all day and Shiro, Tomo and Katoram traded insults with each other. When dinner was over, Nami and Calen said their goodbyes and headed off to another officer meeting. The girls all wandered back to their tents to gossip and the boys sat around a bonfire with a bunch of other rebels.

In the officers meeting, Calen called the high ranking men and women to order.

"Progress report please."

"Non benders are now fully versed in the new weapons. More practice may be necessary however." Makoto reported.

"Fair enough. You have ten days. How do we stand on amo?"

"We could always use more, but what we have is sufficient."

"Very good. Nami?"

"Objectives are clearly explained and training is running smoothly."

"Excellent. Lee?"

"Healing sessions are running along exquisitely. We have quite a few talented benders that helped teach others. We will finish those lessons and move on to offensive training."

"Phenomenal. My team has been working on its defensive and offensive attacks. Next few days we will continue such work then move on to tunneling specifics. Now, any questions?" No one spoke up and Calen looked around the room. "Great. Well, good night and I'll see you back here in two days, same time. Meeting adjourned." The officers were dismissed to go about whichever activities they pleased. The rest of the night passed uneventfully as the rebels enjoyed their last days before the soon to be war.

* * *

Hey guys, it's SarahPlainntall. I'm SOOOOO sorry that this chapter took FOREVER! First I was moving into a new apartment, then I went on vacation and I just haven't had time to update, so I'm SOOOOO sorry that it took so long. Plus, I know this chapter seemed a little choppy and boring and just kind of sucked all around, but the next one will be WAY better, promise. Anywho, thanks for hanging in there!


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

***~*~*~*~*~*~*10 DAYS LATER; THE NIGHT BEFORE THE INVASION~*~*~*~*~*~***

The night before the battle had become a solemn one. There was no excitement or parties, the camp was relatively dead and everyone was taking the opportunity to spend some possible last moments together. Calen, Tyshi, Tomo, Mazuki, Shiro, Juri, Nami, Katoram and Machiko sat around a fire quietly watching the flames lick the charred logs. Saji had curled up on Machiko's lap and she pet him almost hypnotically, lost deep in thought. Shiro rubbed his thumb lightly across the back of Juri's hand, Mazuki had curled into Tomo's side and he had put an arm around her waist and Calen was lightly rubbing his hand up and down Tyshi's back.

"Well… this sucks!" Katoram said, breaking the stony silence suddenly slapping her hands down onto her legs. Everyone looked at her groggily. "Come on guys, this might be our last night together!"

"Exactly, that's why we're like this." Tyshi pointed out bluntly, rubbing her face in a tired way.

"I'm sure everything will be okay, right?" Juri asked, looking to Shiro hopefully. "We've got the avatar, right?" She gave him a peck on the cheek and Shiro looked a bit sheepish.

"Right…" Shiro said, staring darkly back at the dancing flames.

"No, Juri's right. We have nothing to worry about. We've been training for a long time, we've got surprise on our side and I'm sure we've got the emperor's men outnumbered. Most of his men are planning for the invasion of the rest of the world; he won't be concentrating his men back at base."

"If you're so confident, then why are you holding on to me so tightly?" Tyshi said pessimistically.

"What? Now I'm not allowed to hold my girlfriend?" Calen said defensively, nudging her lightly trying to get a smile out of her.

Tyshi buried her face in his shoulder and mumbled miserably to him. "I don't like this… I want to fight near you."

Calen pulled her back and lifted her chin so blue met green as he stared intently at her. "You know they need you. You're one of the best benders-"

"Exactly! So why shouldn't I be one of the healers for the earth benders?"

"Ty… We've been over this before. They need the best on the west wall. We can't leave the lesser benders there by themselves, they'll be slaughtered!"

Tyshi let herself flop back into his chest. "Still… I don't like it."

Calen looked around pleadingly. Nami gave a quick laugh. "Tyshi, you're honestly worried about _Calen_? Have you _seen_ him lately? He's a master earth bender; somehow I doubt a couple of half wits with riffles are going to get the jump on him."

"At least _someone_ believes in me!" Calen feigned a deep hurt and disappointment. A small smile appeared on Tyshi's lips and she punched him affectionately in the ribs.

"Shut up."

"That's my girl."

"See? Everything will be fine. Calen's well covered. I have Katoram to watch my back." Nami pointed briefly at Katoram who was obliviously warming her hands in the fire.

"Huh?"

"Nothing." Nami hurried on.

"That ought to be reassuring Nami…" Tomo mumbled rolling his eyes.

"Shut up!" Katoram yelled.

"_Anyways…"_ Nami hissed putting an end to the potential argument. "Mazuki's got Tomo and vice versa, plus I doubt Kyo's about to let anything happen to his little protégé. And last but not least, you three have each other on the west end. Plus, I'll let you in on a little something…" Nami said leaning in with a sly smile. The bait worked and Machiko, Juri and Tyshi leaned in curiously. "Lee, you know the water bending general, in meetings, he talk about these three girls that are just phenomenal; he was talking about you three. So I'm pretty sure no one has anything to worry about."

Tyshi, Machiko and Juri exchanged a pleased smile. Everyone seemed to be in brighter spirits except Shiro who continued to stare gloomily into the fire. Tomo who was sitting across the fire from him was one of the first to notice.

"You okay dude?" Shiro shrugged but continued to say nothing as he allowed his shaggy hair to hide his face.

"Shiro, what's wrong?" Juri said turning to him genuinely concerned.

"Nothing."

"Shiro…" Juri said hugging him.

"I'm just… concerned about tomorrow."

"Everything is under control." Calen reassured him.

"I'm sure everyone's got it under control… except for me."

"What are you talking about?" Juri asked. Calen just nodded because Shiro had confided in him before.

"What if something goes wrong? The avatar state would really come in handy, that is, if I could somehow figure out how to get there!" Shiro pushed back his hair with both hands in frustration.

Juri put a calming hand on his knee. "Shiro, have you ever been in the avatar state before?"

"No…" He said miserably.

"Have you been in seriously dangerous or stressful situations? Where someone has _really_ been in trouble?"

"…Not really. The closest is when we were springing inmates."

"There, see? There really hasn't been a reason for you to reach the avatar state before. I'm sure if it really does come down to it, it'll be second nature. The avatars of the past won't allow such horrible things to happen. If the time comes you'll know what to do and everything will be fine. You just have to have faith."

Shiro exhaled, trying to calm himself. "Thanks Juri."

The rest of the night was spent consoling each other and trying to lighten the mood and tension of the upcoming battle. Once it became late, Mazuki and Tomo, Juri and Shiro and Calen and Tyshi spent an extra long time parting for the night and once they were done saying good night, they all drifted back to their designated beds and fell into a long restless night's sleep.

* * *

A loud ringing sound ripped everyone in the rebel camp from their half sleep, beckoning them towards breakfast at the crack of dawn. There was an eerie hush as the crowd shuffled towards breakfast at the stone tables for the last time. The scent of eggs and bacon wafted through the air warmly but few were able to enjoy it; most just picked at their food in a gloomy calm. When the half eaten eggs were abandoned, there were many tearful goodbyes and several reassurances as the four groups divided themselves into their groups and ten water and earth benders joined each of the other groups.

The earth benders led the way as they began tunneling a deep descent into the dark earth below. A few fire benders lit the way for the tunneling men and women and the rest of the fire benders followed behind them, then the non bending group and the water benders were the last group. The only sounds echoing up and down the long dark tunnels was the sound of the dirt shifting under the clambering shuffled gait of the men and woman as they tread towards their destiny.

The sound of tunneling up ahead suddenly died off and the forward movement came to a halt. It had become time for the four groups to split up and take their own sides. The assigned earth benders from the groups now stepped forward and began their tunneling in their own designated directions. A short while later, everyone was positioned beneath their spots and the static crackle of the walkie talkies blared to life.

"Everyone ready?" The voice was that of Calen's as he spoke to the leaders of each group.

"Ready." Came Nami's response over the radio.

"We're in position." Lee responded for the water benders.

"Ready." Gray Star's voice sounded last.

"Earth benders, go." With this command, the designated earth benders from each group began to tunnel their way up and bright sunlight instantaneously shone down on them as blaring alarms came to life, announcing their ominous presence. Men and women came charging out of the ground, quickly surrounding the grand mansion of the vile emperor. Fire nation soldiers appeared atop the outer protective walls of the palace in a determined yet confused fashion. They glared down upon the rebels below.

For a brief moment, it seemed that all had gone dead silent. The sound of birds chirping in the glorious warm morning died, the carefree laughter of children in the surrounding streets went quiet, even the alarm seemed to silence itself. Then as if someone had flipped a switch, cries came from the fire nation soldiers as they ordered defensive maneuvers to be taken and the rebel leaders called practiced orders to their people, women from the surrounding town screamed and collected their children as the citizens attempted to flee the city and it's soon to be gory battle scene.

From the west the water benders were receiving heavy fire from the fire nation soldiers on the western wall. Large, thick ice walls were erected to protect the water benders as bullets embedded themselves and slowly chipped away their defenses. Benders were proactively attacking back; launching themselves into the air with ice platforms and showering the fire soldiers with sharp, thick icicles, decimating their numbers dramatically. Of course the water benders took hits as well. The fire nation soldiers melted through the large ice walls and then peppered the men and woman behind them with gun fire.

Tyshi, Machiko and Juri stayed close to each other, working together and giving cover to their leader, Lee while he worked on setting up the explosives to break through the wall. Juri and Machiko kept their wall intact, constantly adding layers as it was melted away by fire or chipped apart by bullets, Tyshi worked on offensive means, bending icicles at soldiers or firing off circular sheets of ice, cutting through the air and crowds like a large buzz saw. A handful of soldiers drew back from the edge of the wall and Tyshi and other offensive benders watched suspiciously. They came back to the edge, armed with large hoses and began spraying the crowds below them. The water benders tried to manipulate the streams, but what the soldiers were spraying was not water and couldn't be bended. One soldier walked towards the end of the hose as it continued to spew a thick, sticky liquid and brought his flame covered hand into the stream and the liquid erupted in bright, hungry flames. The fueled fire lapped hungrily at the ice walls, melting them at a rapid rate. The water benders focused all their attention into sustaining their soul defenses while the fire nation took this opportunity to hit them hard with a barrage of bullets. Cries of pain came from every direction as wounded men and women fell holding their wounds.

"Son of a-!" Machiko screamed as she collapsed, clutching her hip.

"Machiko!" Juri screamed, kneeling next to her and pulling her hand away from the bloody mess where the bullet had torn through her flesh.

"I'll cover, Juri, you heal!" Tyshi yelled. Juri bent the glowing blue water over Machiko's tattered hip while Tyshi kept their wall up. In the midst of all the chaos, an explosion ripped through the air. The wall supporting the fire benders had just exploded in a violent fiery blast; bits of stone scattered across the expansive yard and the soldiers numbers took a huge blow as charred bodies lay strewn throughout the rubble.

Machiko finally healed and she, Juri and Tyshi turned to see Lee start to reload the gun that had launched the explosive that had ripped the fire nation soldier's offense asunder. He paused in his work as the radio on his shoulder crackled to life and Tyshi recognized Shiro's voice.

"How you guys doing?"

"Not too bad. A little rough though." Came Nami's reply from the north.

"Getting better." Lee spoke into the radio.

"Heavy on attacks, but we're well covered."

"Fairly well." Makoto's voice rasped over the radio.

* * *

The siren's alerted the enemy fire benders to the rebel fire benders arrival. Fiery shots were exchanged, fires erupted on the walls and singed large patches of grass which the water benders quickly put out. The exchange in fire power was so continuous and lethal that the soldiers didn't get much of an opportunity to use their guns on the rebels below them.

Every now and then, a large fire ball would hit a fire bender or two, but their agony was quickly eased by an aiding water bender while another fire bender covered them until the repairs were done.

Nami surrounded herself in a competent group of fire benders, Katoram and one water bender. She would charge a few of the smaller explosives and have the water bender freeze the bomb in an ice ball and launch it into the middle of the soldiers above and once it landed, she detonated the round, blowing apart the enemy and neutralizing their attacks. It felt like a real war zone as various types of blazing explosions went on all across the northern face of the palace. Nami cried out orders and the healers were running like mad from one injured person to the next. Their water supply was becoming dangerously low and their options of taking water from the surrounding vegetation was coming to being limited by all the scorching of the plant life around them. Shiro suddenly radioed in to al the leaders.

"How you guys doing?"

"Not too bad. A little rough though." Came Nami's reply from the north.

"Getting better." Lee spoke into the radio.

"Heavy on attacks, but we're well covered."

"Fairly well." Makoto's voice rasped over the radio.

Calen's voice crackled over the walkie talkie on Nami's shoulder on her channel only.

"How you holdin' up Nami? Didn't sound like you were doing too well."

"We're doing okay over here. We're lightening the load of attacks with some of the minor explosives. I'm a little worried about our healers, they're low on water. You?"

* * *

Calen held down the button as he spoke to Nami on her personal channel. Mass chaos was ensuing all around him as he crouched low behind a thick wall held up by some of the defensive earth benders. Some of the sniper benders were launching small hardened rocks like bullets at the soldiers cowering behind their wall above them and the wall crushing benders were busy slamming large boulders into the wall, slowly chipping it away with each blow. Of course, heavy artillery was focused on them as bullets tore through stone walls and large fire balls encircled their defenses.

"We're fairing okay like I said earlier. A few are getting hit here and there, but the healers seem to have it under control. We're slowly making our way through with rock, we weren't given many explosives."

"Roger." Was Nami's brief response and her line cut off dead, but Calen wasn't concerned and he quickly turned his attention back to conducting the earth benders and their barrage on the southern main entrance.

* * *

The eastern side of the palace consisted of the non benders who relied on the water benders for cover behind thick ice walls. The non benders exchanged fire power with fire and more bullets. It was pure pandemonium as shots rang out throughout the eastern lawn. The fire benders worked on melting their guard and peppered the heavily armed men and women with streams of fire and round after round of bullets of all caliber.

Mazuki and Kyo handled the main explosives, aiming for the wall and the soldiers hiding on top of it. They took out most of the soldiers threatening the non benders below and Kyo was working on some of the other contraptions, jamming the enemy's main weaponry, making them rely only on their fire and guns. Tomo had hunkered down at Mazuki's side, picking off soldiers threatening Mazuki and Kyo with his high powered rifle. Makoto could be heard shouting orders to the men and women yielding guns while Gray Star commanded the heavy artillery charged to Mazuki and Kyo. Makoto was the one with the radio when Shiro came over the line and asked about their progress.

* * *

Shiro listened eagerly from high above as he asked the well being of his friends below.

"How you guys doing?"

"Not too bad. A little rough though." Came Nami's reply from the north.

"Getting better." Lee spoke into the radio.

"Heavy on attacks, but we're well covered." Calen responded.

"Fairly well." Makoto's voice rasped over the radio.

Shiro was perched atop his hovering platform, griping his glider anxiously, straining his eyes to see the battle ensuing far below him. Every few minutes, he would take his glider closer to the battle to observe better. Where some of the heavier damage was occurring, he would drop some of the smaller explosives Kyo had equipped him with to pick off some of the fire nation soldiers and give the rebels an edge. All around the palace, flames erupted. Most of the fiery warfare occurred on the northern side. The east was filled the sounds of gun fire that echoed across the now deserted town. The south side where the earth benders were seemed to be making the most progress in breaking through the wall, followed by the non benders, then the water benders where the earth was heavily scorched, though not nearly as bad as where the fire benders fought.

Shiro noticed a lot of healing blue lights coming from all sides, mostly the north, west and east where their walls weren't as sturdy as those of the earth benders to the south. Shiro glided a bit lower and with one hand, he raised a few stone walls for better cover for the water, fire and non benders. After those improvements, the number of healing blue light lowered and Shiro released a shaky sigh of relief.

Shiro glided back to his hovering platform and surveyed the scene below him, anxiously wringing his hands. It would be only a matter of time before the four sides broke into their respected walls and then it would be his turn to bust through the roof as all the rebels stormed the enormous spans of the emperor's mansion. The fire nation soldier's forces were weakening drastically. Their numbers were becoming depleted quickly with no hope of recovery like the rebels; things were taking a turn for the better.

A distant thundering sound caught Shiro's attention. He tore his eyes from the scene below him and looked around, his jaw falling slack in horror of the sight facing him. A sea of armed fire nation soldier's were marching towards the palace; hundreds, maybe even thousands were working on surrounding the town from all directions and were slowly closing in on the rebel troops like a deadly noose.

The world seemed to stop as Shiro watched the soldiers close in. Half of every team turned as the thundering footsteps came closer and all went quiet for a moment as he stood paralyzed on his platform far above the gory warfare below him. Then a ringing in his ears came as the surrounding soldiers opened fire and the odds that once favored the rebels flip drastically. It seemed like a ripple; men and women started falling wounded to the ground, dropping like flies.

"No!" Shiro screamed, dismay consuming him as he launched off his platform, armed with all his explosives. He flew over the massive crowds and began dropping all the bombs he had on the attacking soldiers. Though the blasts were mighty, it barely seemed to make a dent in the forth coming attacks of the soldiers. Hopeless tears blinded him as Shiro flew over the disaster below him as blood flowed freely and men and women lay across the ground, the healers running like mad men from one person to the next.

An unfamiliar voice crackled over the radios to all leaders. "Calen's been hit! All our benders are occupied!"

* * *

A powerful water whip aimed at a group of soldiers fell to the ground, short of its mark. The world seemed to stop for Tyshi. Even above the roar of war she had heard the familiar static delivering the news that shattered her world. She no longer cared for her own well being or the perilous environment around her. Explosions, gun fire and screams blended into a shrill trilling sound and then faded into the back of her mind as her heart pounded, threatening to leap from her chest and the sound of her frantic sucking breaths were all that Tyshi heard as her legs numb yet swift carried her across the charred battle field. Even Machiko and Juri's pleading screams faded to white noise as her legs pumped vigorously beneath her, carrying her to the southern wall, the words echoing in her mind, screaming in urgency.

_'Calen's been hit! Calen's been hit! Calen's been hit!"_ It became a morbid chant in her mind as she willed her body to its maximum potential and leaned forward, careening recklessly forward. She wheeled around the corner and hurdled outcroppings of stone as she entered earth bender territory. She hadn't even realized she had been screaming for Calen as she ran until someone responded.

"Calen? He's here! Over here!" A young boy waved frantically to her and motioned to his feet and a limp carcass hidden behind low stone barriers. Tyshi ran to him and fell to her knees before Calen's battered body.

"Calen…?" Her voice was shaking uncontrollably as she stared into his pained face. He reached up to stroke her cheek soothingly and only then did she realize she was crying. She tore her eyes from his tortured, though still beautiful face. A dark liquid oozed from under his fingers of his other hand, tightly clasped to his abdomen. Shaking, she moved to gently pry his hand from his body and crimson blood welled to the surface and spilled onto his dark shirt. When she shifted his hand, he gasped and grunted in a pained way, clenching his jaw and eyes shut.

"Calen… this is bad…" her trembling voice escaped as only a whisper.

"I'm okay. You shouldn't have risked coming all this way." He said, stroking her moist cheeks again, trying to distract her from his pain.

"I don't care!" She sobbed. "Without you, our new found freedom isn't worth anything to me!"

"But…" he protested feebly and Tyshi cut him off by applying gentle yet firm pressure to the trickling wound and he let out a short pained cry. "Ah!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" she chanted miserably, her vision blurring with stinging, hot tears. Her hands fumbled with the canteen strapped to her waist and withdrew the little remaining water she had. The water began spinning around her palm and glowed a light blue and she lowered it to the gaping hole and ever so slowly did the skin and muscle knit back together and when she was done, a dark pink scar covered where he had been wounded and Tyshi tried to wipe away some of the extra blood with her sleeve.

"Do you feel better?" She asked, trying to stare at his wound through the tears. Calen propped himself up on his elbows, his face twisting a little from the exertion and they both flinched a little as charred debris rained down on top of them from a nearby explosion.

"I'm fine now, thanks to you." Calen pulled himself to his feet and then tugged Tyshi to hers and they crouched behind a pocked wall and peered cautiously around at the pandemonium in every direction.

The soldiers atop the wall of the mansion were reassembling their numbers and waves upon waves of fire nation soldiers were slowly overwhelming the rebels from behind. It seemed that the emperor had called for reinforcements and the soldiers waiting to go overseas had been called back to defend the emperor. It seemed to be a losing battle as the massive numbers closed in with a crushing blow. To the north, fire was fought with fire all around, but the incoming soldiers peppered the rebels with bullets, dropping men and women left and right. East of that, large, piercing icicles were met with large fiery blasts, proving them useless. The water benders resources were quickly being evaporated and the less resourceful benders soon succumbed to the lack of water, falling under siege of the onslaught. West with the non benders were fairing a bit better. Their weaponry put them on slightly more even ground, but they were still in trouble due to the flames and sheer number of soldiers attacking from both the front and rear. The earth benders were putting up one hell of a fight, taking out large numbers of soldiers at a time with large boulders, but while they were busy bending, the troops with guns would take aim and drop the rebels.

* * *

Shiro circled, feeling helpless once he'd run out of explosives to help lessen the blows. Screams still pierced the sky and the once peaceful sunny day was rent apart by explosions as debris rained down. The ruble was marred with blood and so many people were dying on both sides. The gruesome sight made Shiro's stomach churn and he could feel himself shaking. Feeling weak, he landed on the platform and fell to his knees as his stomach heaved in disgust. Once he relieved his stomach of its content, he straightened on shaking legs and stared below him and a loud roar filled his ears once more. Scenes from what seemed to be an entirely different life flooded to the front of his mind. His upbringing around the peaceful monks, separating themselves from the cruel world and its material goods. His meeting with the brother and sister, Tomo and Juri and their excursions all across Japan as he learned the different elements. The coincidental run in and joining of Calen, Nami, Tyshi, Mazuki and Katoram. Those happy memories were now tainted with a blood red horror as the gruesome scene below seemed to consume him; everything started to turn dark and eventually completely black.

To the outside world, if anyone had an opportunity to gaze into the sky at the strange sight, Shiro was slowly rising off his platform, wind blowing all around him, encasing him in a violently windy sphere, his eyes and gapping mouth emitting a bright glowing light. To Shiro however, everything was dark and quiet and calm. The violent battle below him had disappeared and he was being transported to a still, peaceful place. Shiro panicked, looking around frantically for his friends, but nothing existed in the blackness except for him.

A strange glowing light came out of nowhere, slowly approaching him. It appeared to be a young boy, no older than twelve, in strange, flowing ancient garments of yellow and red. His head was shaved and across his scalp he sported a large blue tattoo of an arrow that seemed to spread across his hands as well. Shiro shied away, everything was so strange, what had happened to the battle? Where was he? Who was this? He was not a normal person, he almost seemed to be a ghost, transparent with an odd bluish glow to him and he was smiling.

"Hi Shiro." The strange boy said warmly.

"Who are you and how do you know who I am?" Shiro demanded, glaring suspiciously at the young boy before him.

"I am you. My name is Aang and I used to be the avatar. Right now you're in the spirit world and are currently in the avatar state. I have come to help you with your fight against the emperor."

"I'm in the spirit world? How did that happen? Do you know how long I've been trying to get here?" Shiro was frantic as he paced about the empty space. Things were happening so fast it was hard to process all that was going on.

"Shiro, calm down. You don't have much time. I was the last avatar that had to go through such a drastic power shift in the world. Five hundred years ago, the tyrant fire king tried to take over the world, much the same as the emperor. In the end, I went into the avatar state and took away his bending-"

"You can do that?" Shiro said, spinning wide eyed to stare in shock at such a powerful child.

"Er… ya… anyway, the emperor doesn't have any bending ability, and it'd be a bit drastic to take away all the fire soldiers bending, and I know you were raised in a peaceful manner like I was, so it's up to you to find a way to stop the emperor." The shear look of dread caused Aang to hurry and finish. "Of course, while you're in the avatar state, myself and all the avatars of the past will be there to help guide you, but you must hurry before the bloodshed continues much longer!"

"Okay… What do I do?" He asked, slowing and trying to calm himself.

"Clear your mind and allow the avatar state to take control."

* * *

A strong wind whipped up around the battle field, only when it became strong enough to suck up debris did it draw the attention of the battling people below. The fighting didn't cease, but it slowed and people started to look up in confusion to the source of the disturbance. A bright glowing sphere lowered itself into the center of the chaos, the wind whipped violently around the soldiers and rebels. The men and women, stopped and stared as Shiro stayed hovering above them and a projected voice that was not his own, but deep and booming resonated across the fields.

"The emperor has upset the balance of life! Look around you! He has turned man against his own brother; taken one group of people and made them superior while subjecting others to suffering and humiliation and caused them to go into hiding!" The men and women all around looked at each other and then stared wide eyed back at the avatar. "I'm giving you one final opportunity to lay down your arms and surrender peacefully."

"Don't listen! Fire!" The commanding general of the fire nation cried atop the crumbling walls of the battered castle. "We out number them, we were winning and we _will_ win! FIRE!"

The fire nation soldier raised their weapons and pointed them into the sky and began firing. The wind blew at hurricane grade levels, pulling hard at the soldiers atop the walls and then around the outside soldiers encircling the rebels. Shiro encased himself in heavy rocks and once the strong winds made it too hard to shoot at him, he shot the rocks away from his body and sent them hurtling towards the soldiers. The general was still screaming orders at his troops and Shiro made a deep crevice in the earth below him and used the stone on the wall he was standing upon plummet deep into the gaping fissure. The onslaught continued against Shiro and the rebels, but the rebels had a renewed energy; something about seeing the avatar in his full power gave them new hope for their cause.

The wind died, but was quickly replaced by massive waves of water that started to the west where water benders quickly took reign and followed it around the walls of the castle and helped to guide it away from the rebels and towards the soldiers. The water benders rode the waves back to their side before they receded, but they were met with more guns pointed at them.

"Fire!" Came the unanimous cry from all the fire nation leaders and only clicking noises erupted all around. The water had soaked the ammunition, making it impossible for it to ignite and fire, rendering their weapons useless.

The tides seemed to be turning once more, this time in favor of the rebels again. The desperate soldiers resorted to hand to hand combat, but majority relied on their fire bending ability. However, all the fire discharged from the benders was immediately sucked upwards into a massive fiery tornado that swirled intimidatingly around the avatar and then broke into five separate cyclones of flame that struck the soldiers in the middle on the castle and the divided squadron of soldiers on the four sides surrounding the rebel men and women.

The soldiers were suffering from the massive hits they had taken and were taking their time recovering as the rebels closed in. While the fight was turned over to the benders and non benders once more, Shiro focused his energies on the emperor. He ripped the roof right off the building and flung it to the side. The soldiers on top held on for dear life and screamed as they and the detached roof were sent flying, landing in a heap several yards from battle. Shiro levitated closer and several soldiers that had taken refuge inside scattered. Shiro lowered himself so he was just feet from the ground in front of the throne heavily surrounded by more guards. Shiro stuck out his arm and all the guards were thrown heavily against the back wall, revealing the emperor cowering in his thrown, shielding himself with his arms out in front of him.

"You're nothing but a coward!" The eerie voice emanating from the slight frame of Shiro was powerful and terrifying as he pointed an accusing finger at the emperor. "You sit atop your throne and give orders, relying on the dirty work of your soldiers while you sit here in the lap of luxury and tear apart people's lives without a qualm. It's people like_ you_ that disgust me!" He cried, thrusting an accusatory finger in his direction once again.

One of the soldiers that had been blown against the wall was trying to discretely load his gun and as the clip clicked into the gun, Shiro spun, and made a large slab of stone rise from the ground and crush into the soldiers with a deadly blow and dull crunches. With the vague distraction, the emperor bounded off his throne and made a mad dash for a door, but his path was blocked as a wall of flames erupted in front of him. Shiro hovered closer and blasted the emperor back into his seat with a strong gust of air and once he landed, water wrapped around his body and froze, binding him to the throne.

Shiro approached, his young face distorted in anger and the glow radiating from his eyes made him all that more frightening. "You just don't learn, do you? Fire lord Ozai tried the same thing five hundred years ago and he was defeated by me then as you will be here soon. The people of the world are meant to live in peace and harmony until someone like _you _comes along." He spat disgustedly.

"I'm… I'm sorry!" The man pleaded, searching Shiro's for some kind of pity or mercy.

"Sorry doesn't cut it." Shiro hissed in the deep, echoing voice.

"I didn't mean any harm!" The man sobbed, tears ran down his oily face.

"Didn't mean any harm? Didn't mean any harm? For your insolence and tyranny, you will pay the ultimate price!" The avatar summoned water, air, fire and earth and spun them around his hand and spiraled them into the emperor. That was the last thing he ever saw.

Shiro exited the castle, still hovering in his air bubble and eyes still ablaze as he remained in the avatar state. He floated high above the castle and announced in a deep booming voice the resonated over the people below who were still fighting.

"My people! The emperor is dead! I suggest you surrender for those who don't shall be incarcerated. Lay down your weapons and raise your hands in the air if you accept defeat." Most of the fire nation's soldiers did as they were told, but several still resisted. Those who did not comply, Shiro earth bended restraints around their arms and legs and the rebels surrounded them, preparing to take them into custody. The war was finally over.

* * *

**ONE MONTH LATER**

The mess in Japan's capitol had been cleaned up and the emperor's residence had been restored and the new emperor was none other than Gray Star, or emperor Hiro as he was better known as. The whole country celebrated the Avatar and the rebels who had restored Japan to its former glory as benders were welcome back to society with a renewed vigor. The camps that had once held the benders and rebels captive now served as an internment camp for those who still supported the old emperor's ideals. Shiro and Calen were made to be advisors to the new emperor as he took charge of Japan. Shiro, Juri, Tomo and Mazuki shared a residence on the outskirts of town and their neighbors were Tyshi and Calen to one side and Katoram and Nami resided on the other side. Everyone had remained close and they were all offered excellent jobs for their previous endevours.

Shiro and Calen aided the emperor, Nami became a leading general for Japan's army and Katoram was a lieutenant under her rule. Tyshi became a special trainer for water benders across the country, Juri joined a special healing unit within a nearby hospital where Machiko also worked and Mazuki became a weapon specialist with Kyo and the worked for the government. Their lives were calm and enjoyable and they were immensely grateful for the peace and freedom they had gained through all their efforts in the now harmonious Japan they had once known and loved.

**THE END**

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Hey guys, it's Sarahplainntall. I am SOOOOOOOOOOO sorry that took so long! Things get a bit hectic in college between organic chemistry, statistics, business law and anatomy to name a few… Can I just say that you guys are absolutely FANTASTIC for having stuck with me this long? And I'm aware the ending is cheesy and cliché, I'm sorry, feel free to edit it in your minds however you'd like to. Leave me comments and let me know what you think, please?


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